Records tumble in Fish 2004
4 October 2004
Ant Stott satisfied a life-long goal by winning the 2004 Hansa Powerade Fish Marathon, one of the few major river marathon titles to have eluded the star paddler.
Stott and his partner Deon Bruss, who was the defending K2 champion, broke the second stage record as well as the overall race record in a flawless display of river paddling.
The pair started the final day with a three-and-a quarter-minute lead over second-placed under-21 sprint stars Brett Bartho and Michael Arthur, and racing alone they tore downriver, adding a further four minutes to their lead.
'At last, a Fish victory!'
"At last, a Fish victory!" said an ecstatic Stott at the finish after the final 38-kilometre stage into Cradock. "It was great having Deon in front of me, as he has won the race before, and he hardly put a paddle wrong", he added.
The women's record also fell, but in far more dramatic fashion. Overnight leaders Alexa
Lombard and Donia Kamstra had a lead of just over two minutes over Michelle Eray of Knysna and Capetonian Abbey Miedema, which they had stretched to four-and-a-half minutes by the time they reached the tricky Cradock Weir, five kilometres from the end.
Lombard and Kamstra capsized as they shot the weir, and were caught in the dangerous suckback at the foot of the weir until they were rescued by lifesavers, and managed to extract their boat from the tumbling water.
Smashed the record
"I was convinced that the boat was wrapped, or broken into pieces", said a relieved Lombard after arriving at the finish, having shaved a massive nine minutes off the women's record.
"As I was being sucked under, all thoughts of self-preservation vanished, because I just felt so disappointed. We had done all the hard work to set up that lead, and it felt like were blowing it", Kamstra said afterwards.
They finished two minutes ahead of the plucky pair
of Miedema and Eray, who never gave up throughout, and also raced seven minutes inside the previous race record.
Battle for second and third
The race for the last place on the podium in the men's field produced thrilling racing in the closing stages. Len Jenkins and Hank McGregor, who had battled with a broken rudder cable on the first stage, opted to start slowly to allow three other boats to catch them, after which they worked together to try and chase down the second-placed crew.
When the four-boat bunch broke up just above Marlow chute, only Mike Harris and Russell Willis were able to stay with the potent pairing of Jenkins and McGregor, who eventually sprinted away to wrap up the consolation third place.
"Hats off to Ant (Stott) and Deon (Bruss). They raced brilliantly, and they deserve the win, especially after their sportsmanship on the first day", said Jenkins.
Great sportsmanship
Stott and
Bruss had stopped to help Jenkins and McGregor after the pair broke their rudder cable, giving them their spare cable and the tools needed to effect the quick repair which kept them in the race.
"It's fantastic to win the race", said Stott. "But I have admit that it would have been sweeter if Len (Jenkins) and Hank (McGregor) hadn't had that rudder cable problem, because I am convinced that we had the beating of them fair and square."
KwaZulu-Natal youngsters Denham Howe and Jason Graham finished in a creditable fifth position overall, losing one place in the four-boat dogfight for third place, while seasoned Durban paddlers Darryl Bartho and Herman Chalupsky stormed through the field to make up 10 places and finish seventh overall.
The Ekhuruleni Kayak Club duo of Michael Mbanjwa and Mike Stewart took the last gold medal as just reward for a very consistent race.
Internationals struggle
The visiting internationals all
experienced tough days on the final stage into Cradock. After leading a lightning-paced chasing pack for three-quarters of the stage, Swiss stars Peter Luethi and Pascal Lucker swam at both the Marlow Chute and at Cradock Weir.
Germans Max Hoff and Stephan Stiefenhoefer also fell out at Cradock Weir, costing them precious time. They still managed to finish twentieth overall, as Steifenhoefer gushed: "What a fantastic race!"
Australians Shaun Rice and Simon Roll battled with their craft set-up, despite an overnight decision to reverse the seating in their K2. A perplexed Roll said at the finish that he could not get going, and said he was worried by a virus infection from a fortnight back that was still affecting him.
The juniors' honours went to Michaelhouse schoolboy Stuart Jardine and Johannesburg's David Gerber, some 25 minutes shy of the stunning 1989 record set by Robbie Herreveld and Arno von Mansberg.
One of the spectators on the final stage was Port
Elizabeth paddler Ian Walland, who broke his leg in a swim down Keith's Flyover on the first day. With his leg heavily set in plaster, Walland confirmed that he would be seeing an orthopaedic surgeon in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
Summary of Results
Men
1. Deon Bruss/Ant Stott 4:42.33 (new record)
2. Brett Bartho/Michael Arthur 4:50.09 (1st U21)
3. Len Jenkins/Hank McGregor 4:54.12
4. Mike Harris/Russell Willis 4:54.20
5. Denham Howe/Jason Graham 4:55.08
6. Russell Lund/Graham Bird 4:56.14
7. Darryl Bartho/Herman Chalupsky 4:57.32
8. Paul Marais/Peter Cole 4:57.51
9. Barry Lewin/Kelby Murray 4:58.23
10. Mike Stewart/Michael Mbanjwa 5:01.16
Women:
1. Alexa Lombard/Donia Kamstra 5:17.52 (new record)
2. Abbey Miedema/Michelle Eray 5:19.47
3. Laura Thomson/Pippa Elliott 5:44.28
Juniors
1. Stuart Jardine/David Gerber 5:15.41
2. Ross McGeary/Chris Couve
5:17.36
3. Gareth Edmonds/Deon Oellerman 5:19.10
4. Stephen Bird/Emile Scheepers 5:20.25 (1st U16)
Source: Canoeing South Africa
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