Mbanjwa eyes Dusi history
30 December 2005
Len Jenkins and Michael Mbanjwa are looking like strong contenders for the Hansa Powerade Dusi 2006.
The duo, who have been paddling together for only a few months now, looked very relaxed when they won the Campbell's to Dusi Bridge race on 11 December.
"I can honestly say that we combined very well from the first time we got in the boat together," Mbanjwa said at the finish in the Valley of a Thousand Hills.
"It's almost as if we are meant to be," he added. "Over the next few weeks we have awesome sessions planned, and come 19 January we will be ready."
The Hansa Powerade Dusi 2006 takes place from 19 to 21 January, starting at Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg and ending at the Blue Lagoon in Durban.
Transformation
The Dusi is widely regarded as a pioneer of transformation in South African sport. A development programme was started in the early 1990s to promote the sport and the race in
KwaZulu-Natal's Valley of a Thousand Hills. Robert Lambethe started a club at Nagle Dam, and the results have been amazing.
In the 2005 race, Loveday Zondi became the first black paddler ever to finish on the podium, taking third place in the singles (K1) race; Mbanjwa placed sixth. To put this result into perspective: it was only five years previously that Mbanjwa became the first black paddler to place in the Dusi top 50.
"Robert Lambethe stopped me on the way to a game of soccer in 1997 and said that I should try canoeing," Mbanjwa says. "We used to watch paddlers in the Valley, but I never thought that I would end up doing the sport, let alone being tipped as a possible winner."
For Mbanjwa - as for Zondi - the Dusi is a "home race". He grew up in the Valley of a Thousand Hills; his home is in the shadow of Table Mountain (not to be confused with Cape Town's landmark), near the first night stop of the Dusi.
"You know, I'm not a development paddler
anymore," Mbanjwa says. "Those days are past. I am a black paddler that has come up through development ranks and now I really feel like I am at the top of my game. I would love to be the first black paddler ever to stand on the podium where it says number one."
His partner agrees.
'Amazing paddler and athlete'
"Michael is an amazing paddler and athlete," says Len Jenkins. "You cannot believe his times for running with a boat - and his sprint times are better than mine now.
"We are really putting in the training now. Michael is living with me at home and we are doing three training sessions each and every day. We are watching our diet closely and taking advice from the right people. We are leaving nothing to chance this year.
"And it's not all just training," Jenkins adds. "We are having fun. I am going to stay with him and his family in their home in the Valley of a Thousand Hills in the next week and we will do some training on
Michael's home soil. It also gives us a great chance to bond, to understand each other, which is so important when the pressure is on.
'Many eyes on us'
"I feel privileged to be paddling with Michael," Jenkins says. "There are many eyes on us. One just has to be in the valley and have a look at all the kids that are looking at Michael.
"There is a whole generation banking on our success. It's an awesome responsibility, but one that we have taken with both hands. We will be ready come 19 January."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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