Early success for Purchase
A TOTAL of 19 categories will be recognised at the KwaZuluNatal Sports Awards banquet hosted by the MEC for Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Bongi Sithole-Moloi, at the International Convention Centre in Durban next Friday.
The awards seek to recognise and reward athletes, coaches, administrators and others, as well as teams, in the province for their excellence in their chosen sports on and off the field in the past year, from August 1 last year to July 31 this year. Judging by the list of finalists, this year’s event is set to be one of the best since the inception of the awards in 2013.
Sports personalities and guests are expected to be in attendance, as well as a number of high-profile government officials from inside and outside the province.
Sithole-Moloi said: “In line with our vision to promote a province of sports winners and champions, it is critical that we reward such excellence, because our champions are also our ambassadors. We look forward to celebrating and acknowledging their success with them on this special occasion.”
Vying for the sportsmanof-the-year award are canoeist Hank McGregor, netball player Sphele Mthembu and triathlete Henri Schoeman. Canoeist Bridgitte Hartley has again been nominated as sportswoman of the year, along with cricketer Dinesha Devnarain and synchro swimmer Phindile Makhaye.
There are four candidates in the running for junior sportsman of the year: Dylan Drysdale (shooting), Thembo Makhanya (tennis), Samkelo Mkhize (karate full contact) and Jean van der Westhuisen (canoeing). The junior sportswoman’s title will be contested between Jasmin Martin (judo) and swimmers Erin Gallagher and Samantha Labuschagne.
Athletes with disabilities have not been forgotten, with Hylton Heggie (swimming) and Sihle Mntungwa (judo) nominated for the men’s award, and swimmers Alani Ferreira and Melissa Ann van Bosch for the women’s.
Other award categories are: administrator of the year, coach of the year, federation of the year, photographer of the year, sports journalist of the year, school team of the year, developing school team of the year, team of the year, recreation body of the year and sports personality of the year.
Special awards are: the MEC Special Honour Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Posthumous Recognition Award.
Members of the public can vote for the sports personality of the year through an SMS line, 33258.
To vote, SMS the word “Ompethabethu” followed by the name of your favourite from this list: Dinesha Devnarain, Alani Ferreira, Brigette Hartley, Hylton Heggie, Phindile Makhaye, Hank McGregor, Sihle Mntungwa, Sphelele Mthembu, Henri Schoeman and Melissa Ann van Bosch. THE 23-goal South African team again got the better of Uruguay in the second Test in the annual international polo series. South Africa won 7-5 (half-time 3-3) at the Waterfall Polo Estate in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, last Sunday.
South Africa had won the first Test 9-8 at Shongweni the previous weekend, so were declared the overall winners of two-Test series with a goal aggregate of 16-13 for the two Tests, thus retaining the BMW Trophy that they won last year against New Zealand and in 2014 against the USA, having lost the series to Chile in 2013.
Nick Tatham
BRANDENBURG: Emerging talent Kyeta Purchase got the South African charge off to a positive start on day one of the Canoe Marathon World Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, yesterday when she won the bronze medal in the K1 junior girls’ race.
Jenna Ward and Louis Hattingh put in brave efforts to finish fourth and sixth in the K1 under-23 women’s and K1 under-23 men’s clashes respectively.
Having finished fourth at her first world championships in Hungary last year, this time round Purchase won her first medal, finishing behind Hungarians Noemi Pupp and Viktoria Nagy. Another South African, Christie Mackenzie, held her own for most of the race to finish in a respectable fourteenth.
Purchase headed into the clash aiming to medal – no matter what the colour – and she was happy that she was able to get the job done.
“Last year wasn’t a great world champs for me, so I’ve been working really hard to improve going into this year. And to get a medal means that that hard work has paid off,” she said.
“I messed up on the last portage, which cost me a bit of time, and I also lacked a bit of pace on the Hungarian girls, which was a bit frustrating, but to win a medal is such an incredible feeling and I am really happy!”
In the under-23 women’s race, Ward had the hard task of taking on three of the strongest paddlers in the category: Hungary’s Sara Anna Mihalik and Vanda Kisli, who is Ward’s Dusi Canoe Marathon partner, and Hermian Peters, who represented Belgium at the Rio Olympics.
Despite being in the race for gold up until the second-last lap, the split in the lead four relegated the Durban paddler to the fight for bronze, a battle she ultimately lost to Peters.
“I’m obviously a little disappointed with fourth place but I couldn’t have done anything different or better, and the other girls were just that much stronger than me, so congratulations to them,” said Ward who won bronze in the event in 2014 and last year.
She added: “The intervals on the front were really tough and I knew that I had to try and hang in there for as long as possible.
“Their speed was too quick for me, though, and although I didn’t get the result I wanted, I couldn’t have done anything differently, so I’m quite happy.”
The men’s under-23 race finished off the day’s action for Team South Africa, with Louis Hattingh and Nicholas Notten flying the flag for the Rainbow Nation in a tense affair that went all the way to the final 100m.
Hattingh, who fell outside the top 12 early on, fought back well to work his way back to the front of the field.
The final lap proved too much, though, as the top three put the hammer down, dropping the chasing pack.
Unwilling to give up, Hattingh led the chasers out of the last portage and into the final lap but had to settle for sixth in the end.
Notten pushed for a top-10 finish but was forced into thirteenth place.
THE 2016 Compendium Sunday Tribune Hill 2 Hill on Sunday looks set to be a captivating contrast of tactics as the top riders look to gain any advantage over the gruelling 100km race between World’s View in Hilton and Shongweni in Hillcrest.
Among the six main favourites there are skilled cross country specialists, experienced marathon professionals, a couple of young guns hoping to upset their older rivals and some wily old journeymen who have the experience to win the race with tactics rather than pure speed.
Heading the challenge are two of the future stars of South African mountain biking, defending champion Brendon Davids, who showed last year he can grind out a victory at a steady, hard pace; and Team Kargo Pro’s Alan Hatherly, who a few weeks ago was showing he can ride with the world’s best in Rio.
Then, in a widely contrasting style, Team Telkom’s HB Kruger is a former roadie who has developed into one of the country’s top ultramarathon off-road riders. He is likely to find the tough hills at the end of the gruelling race to his liking as the others start to fade.
Although not together as a team in this race, experienced campaigners and regular teammates Andrew Hill and Tyronne White are sure to be riding for each other and will be on hand to provide some help if the situation warrants it, and this could give them a crucial edge when the racing gets tough over the last 30km.
Three outsiders who will be hanging around the lead bunch are Leeroy Emslie, Travis Walker and Sthembiso Masango, who could all cause a major upset if they can pull
HB Kruger, above, and Robyn de Groot could be the two winners on Sunday. of an unlikely win. Masango, from Martin Dreyer’s RMB Change a Life team, finished sixth last year to claim the development prize, and with Dreyer’s guidance could be somebody to watch.
A new twist to the race this year is the introduction of the StaminoGro King of the Hills with three sprint primes spread over the first half of the course. These could force riders to change tactics and has the potential to mix things up among the leaders.
In the women’s race, TeamAscendis Health’s Robyn de Groot from George is the clear favourite, but she will have to be on top form against two-time race winner Jeannie Dreyer, a very strong and experienced athlete over the 100km distance. The 30-odd kilometres ridden more than normal races for women, makes this something of an unusual challenge for most of the females, but Dreyer has an incredible record of finishing the past three years with times that are within 30 seconds of each other. Her ability to pace herself is phenomenal and at the end of a tough day it could give her the edge. In yet another contrast, young up and coming future stars Frankie du Toit and the slightly older Haley Smith have the speed to win, but there are question mark over their endurance.If one of them gets away early, it will mean a tough tactical decision for their more experienced rivals.
Today the 45km race takes place from Cato Ridge to Shongweni with the 100km main event on Sunday from World’s View to Shongweni. In a unique category, the best combined times for both races, for both men and women, will earn a R2 000 bonus in the Trellidor Back 2 Back Ultimate Challenge.