Drama defines last stage of Fish
MISTAKES from both the men’s and women’s overnight leaders at the death handed Greg Louw and Andy Birkett and the crew of Jenna Ward and Anna Koziskova the respective Fish River Canoe Marathon titles on Saturday.
Starting the final day with just a one-second lead, the surprise package of Stuart Maclaren and Frenchman Cyrille Carre were right in the mix until they fell out at the bottom of the Marlow Chute, just 9km from the finish.
This mistake handed the advantage to the experienced Louw and Birkett duo, who put the hammer down right to the finish to claim their second consecutive title.
The winning pair, who went in to the second stage as favourites, were made to work hard for their victory, with Maclaren and Carre living up to their word of putting them under pressure the whole way.
“We had a good, clean day today and managed to get through all the major obstacles first, which we wanted to do and avoided making any mistakes,” Merrell/Knysna Racing’s Louw said.
“Stu [MacLaren] and Cyrille [Carre] were really strong throughout and it could have been anybody’s race right up until they had an unfortunate swim.
“Andy and I click in a boat which means we don’t have to have too much time together before it comes right – if you click you can make the boat move pretty quickly!”
Birkett was full of praise for his partner, who navigated them down through the two days without a hitch.
“It saves you so much energy when you get yourselves into the right place at the right time when it comes to rapids and portages.
“We were always taking out first and putting in first at the portages which, when you add up all that time, makes quite a big difference.
“It’s also great to be able to paddle with a mate like Greg; irrespective of the result, I would still be happy at the end of the race,” Birkett said.
It was heart-wrenching for the runners-up, who seemed to be mixing it up well with Louw and Birkett until they fell out at the Marlow Chute, and they cut disappointed figures at the finish.
“I don’t even know where to start to be honest,” a gutted Maclaren said.
“We had their card for a lot of the day, which is probably the most upsetting part. We really wanted to have a proper crack coming into the finish line, but that’s racing and we will definitely be back to give it another go!”
It was another solid day for the Murray Starr and Adrian Boros combination as they powered home to third place overall.
The ladies race followed a similar pattern despite the 61-second deficit Ward and Koziskova had to overturn at the start of the final stage.
The chasing pair managed to whittle down the overnight advantage and caught the leading pair at the Marlow Causeway portage.
From there it was a straight shot to the finish and the pressure told as Bridgitte Hartley and Kristina Bedec capsized at the Cradock Weir, which gave Ward and Koziskova a slight gap – which they took.
The U23 pair of Kyeta Purchase and Kerry Segal cruised home to third overall.