Dusi woman paddler hurt after stoning
ONE of the top female competitors in the Dusi Canoe Marathon was injured after she was pelted with stones thrown by village children yesterday.
Anna Adamova, who finished second in the women’s race with partner Abby Addie, needed medical attention after she arrived at the finish feeling woozy and battling to keep consciousness.
The incident happened in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, about 20km before the end.
It was unclear if she was hit intentionally or by accident, and no other paddlers reported stone-throwing. No arrests were made. Andy Birkett and Sbonelo Zondi won the men’s race, standing in their boat with their paddles in the air celebrating their victory at Durban’s Blue Lagoon.
The pair atoned for what they regarded as poor performances last year with a dominant display of power paddling.
It was a special win for Zondi, who claimed his first Dusi title and washed away the heartbreak of last year’s race, which he led for two days before bowing out of contention on the last day.
Zondi became only the second VICTORY SHAKE: Abbey Ulansky and Robyn Kime took the honours in the women’s race black paddler to win the Dusi after Thulani Mbanjwa, who won the K2 with Martin Dreyer in 2008.
The pair showed a glimpse of their prowess when they claimed the One Day Dusi, but still needed to live up to expectations this year.
They finished 10min 8sec ahead of second-placed Hank McGregor and Jasper Mocke. Cam Schoeman and Jakub Adam paddled in third.
Lance Kime and Mbanjwa, who lost 30 minutes when they capsized on the opening day, impressed with their never-saydie spirit.
They were 17th after the first stage and worked their way through the field to finish 5min 25sec behind the third-placed pair.
Birkett and Zondi led from the Pine Tree portage on the first day and extended their lead from 5min 27sec at the end of the first stage to 8min 56sec by the second stage.
To be safe, they portaged up the punishing Burma Road hill and only complete disaster could have stopped them from winning once they crossed Pump House Weirs.
The pair clocked 7hr 43min 50sec overall.
“I was so happy to have finished first at last,” Zondi said.
“It has been a long dream of mine to take this title. I tried my best last year [in the K1] but, unfortunately, I swam at Pump House. I started the day nervous about Pump House.
“I was happy that Andy listened to me when I said we should port there because we had a comfortable lead and didn’t have to take a risk.”
Birkett, who won this race twice with Jason Graham, credited Zondi for the win.
“It’s been a long road but it has been lekker paddling with Sbonelo,” said Birkett, who now has four career Dusi wins.
Robyn Kime and Abbey Ulanski came in a minute ahead of Adamova and Addie to take the ladies’ race.
It was Kime’s fifth straight win.