1 March 2004

Len Jenkins announced his return to top form with a stunning victory in the weekend’s SA K1 River Championships, held on the Hansa Powerade Drakensberg Challenge marathon in Underberg. Jenkins raced away from a powerful chasing bunch to win the title by six minutes.

Clearly delighted, he said afterwards that the win was a major mental boost, after a long and frustrating season in which top results have eluded him, and sponsors had deserted him. “It feels great to be in a K1 again, and to win a major race like this”, he said in direct reference to his disappointing K2 season.

The 23-year old engineering student set off on the second stage from the Swartberg Road bridge outside Underberg, with a two-and-a-half minute lead, but said he was concerned that the chasing duo of Sven Bruss and Shaun Biggs would work together to close down his advantage.

”My seconds told me I had opened out another 30 seconds by the time I got to Scotston’s Bridge in Underberg, eight kilometres into the second stage, and below the Gorge it was a further two minutes”, said Jenkins, who time-trialled alone at the front of the race to secure the victory, on a medium-full Umzimkulu river that posed plenty of threats.

Stott sidelined
Jenkins took full advantage of the dramatic withdrawal of pre-race favourite Ant Stott, who had won four of the last five Drak Challenge races. Stott was floored by a stomach virus, that had left him weak, and with a dangerously high heart rate. Despite have a resting heart rate of 110, Stott elected to start at the back of the field to enjoy the full river, once he had come to terms with the advice from his doctor not to race hard.

Just as impressive was the win in the ladies’ race by Capetonian Alexa Lombard. In a display of determined power paddling, she added nine minutes to her overnight lead of five-and-a-half minutes, to prove she is clearly the best woman paddler in the country.

Lombard silenced her critics by handling all the challenges thrown at her by the technically demanding first 10 kilometres of the race, through the notorious Valley of a Thousand Rapids, which she was not familiar with.

She used her legendary flatwater racing sped on the long stretches of flatwater in the middle of the second stage to race away from defending champion Jeanette Walder of Knysna.

Michaelhouse schoolboys dominated the junior race, which was eventually won by Stuart Jardine from David Chaplin. Kate Cornish won the junior girls race from Angelique Mulder.

Race officials insisted that every canoeist portage around the dangerous Glenhaven rapid, as the full river made the rapid very dangerous, and hampered the rescue capabilities of the safety marshalls.

Summary Of Results

	Theron takes Berg River 2003 Jenkins, Lombard win Fish 2003 Stott, Dreyer rule Dusi 2004 Stott, Bruss take Umkomaas 2004 2004 SA Single Ski title shared Stott, Dreyer win 50-Miler McGregor wins World Champs Bruss brothers win in Ireland Jenkins/Theron win SA K2 Champs Bruss brothers win Down Under McGregor is the K1 king

	Canoeing South Africa