McGregor joins Berg battle
COLIN Nel, of the KZN Cricket Society, has asked me to remind members and others interested in becoming a member that the next meeting of the society is at 5.30pm on Wednesday (July 13) in the North Stand at Kingsmead.
The guest speaker will be author, lecturer and historian Dr Dean Allen, who is a senior academic at Bournemouth University and a Research Associate of Stellenbosch University. He has been published widely on the history and politics of sport and society throughout the British Empire, most notably in South Africa.
Colin can be contacted at info@kzncricketsociety.co.za.
Kyle Gilham
TEN-TIME Berg River Canoe Marathon winner Hank McGregor has confirmed his entry for this year’s race from Paarl to Velddrif next week.
The six-time marathon world champion has dominated the event since the turn of the new millennium, and there is every chance that he will extend his record to 11 titles next Saturday.
“After my win in my surfski at the Mauritius Ocean Classic last weekend, I’m feeling refreshed and ready to race,” said an upbeat McGregor.
“Everyone always says it but this year is genuinely going to be one of the most competitive Bergs ever. I’m super excited to see how it all pans out.
“I did a lot of miles leading up to Mauritius and then I did some mega miles when we were there too, so I’m fit and feeling great.”
Although McGregor’s fellow KZN paddler and last year’s runner-up Andy Birkett won’t be on the start line, a strong Western Cape contingent consisting of Graeme Solomon, Simon van Gysen, Stu Maclaren and Louw van Riet will hope to get themselves into podium contention.
McGregor, however, also pointed to the four international paddlers in the field: Hungary’s Adrian Boros, Australia’s Josh Kippin and Brendon Rice, and the Czech Republic’s Petr Mojzisek.
“The international guys really threw a spanner in the works last year, and with world championship medallists aplenty in this year’s group, they will be very strong,” he said.
“If you’ve won a medal at Worlds then you have the potential to upset the apple cart at the Berg for sure. Just look at how strong Ben Brown was in 2013 until he got stuck in a tree block.”
McGregor added that the locals’ tactics could play a role in the influence of the internationals on the results.
“It will be interesting to see how the South African guys treat the internationals during the race.
“Will the South Africans look to race the South Africans and therefore look to use one or two of the overseas guys to get an advantage? Or will the South Africans try to stick together and race against the internationals?
“The river is also fuller this year than it was last year, which will help the international guys a little bit more because it takes a few more tree blocks out of the equation.
“A lot of trees have been cut down at the top section too, so it seems like local knowledge will count for far less now than it used to.
“Either way, though, we know the international guys are going to be extremely strong and definitely have what it takes to occupy a large portion of the top 10.”
McGregor’s love of the Berg is as strong as ever, which is why the Western Cape major forms a key part of his annual calendar.
“When you cross the finish line at Berg, you feel like you’ve achieved something, regardless of whether you come first, fifth, 20th or 100th.
“The Berg is also great race training for me, especially ahead of Marathon Worlds in September.
“Some guys deal well with high mileage and others are knocked for six. For me, the Berg recharges my batteries for the second six months of the year.”
Ominously for the rest of the field, the global paddling sensation won’t be the only McGregor on the water.
McGregor’s father, Lee, recently confirmed his participation, with the 64-year-old great-grandmaster eyeing a remarkable third Berg top-10 finish since his 60th birthday.
“Two months ago I said to my dad, ‘Why don’t you do Berg?’ And he turned around and said to me, ‘I’ll do it if you do!’ And so now we’re both in,” laughed McGregor.
“My dad is going to be there with me, along with my wife, Pippa, and our son, Thor, which is going to be very special for all of us.
“My son was born on the first day of the Berg two years ago and now there will be three McGregor generations at this year’s Berg, with my son celebrating his birthday when the race finishes on Saturday.
“He’ll get to see both his dad and grandfather racing on his birthday, and who knows, perhaps in 15 years or so we may see him choosing to do a Berg of his own.
“I’ll let him decide about that in time, though.”
The Berg River Canoe Marathon starts in Paarl on Wednesday and ends at Velddrif on Saturday.
More information can be found at www.berg.org.za.