Unfortunate accident sees one Louw on the banks

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Wednesday, 22 September 2010 16:26

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Accident reshapes Louw’s plans for Hansa Powerade Fish

The Louw brothers won't be going at it together for this years Fish, one of them will unfortunately be watching from the sideline as the other explores a new category.

Eastern Cape hopes of the local siblings Ryan and Greg Louw challenging for the title in the Hansa Powerade Fish River Canoe marathon next weekend have been dashed by a bike injury that has left Ryan Louw on the sidelines.

The brothers, who were raised in Cradock, have flown the flag for the region in recent years, finishing second in 2008 behind eventual winners Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt.

They have a long list of canoeing achievements on their CVs, including winning the famous Liffey Descent in Ireland, and are currently part of the national Olympic Sprint Training Squad. They had planned on taking advantage of their two month rest period set by their coach to train and take part in the Hansa Powerade Fish on 1 and 2 October.

With his younger brother now out of the frame, 24 year old Greg Louw has opted to tackle the newly recognised K3 field with fellow paddlers and university mates Charles Stretch and Brett Holmes.

The trio have already managed to test their compatibility during the Pre-Fish, which took place this past weekend and motored into second place restoring their faith in their new class.

Louw alluded to having done very little river training thus far, however his podium positioning at the Pre-Fish says otherwise further cementing the likelihood of himself and his new crew to take home the K3 title in the 2010 Fish canoe marathon.

“We shouldn’t end up too far back in the field,” said Greg Louw, delving into understatement. “Probably near the front of the K3 field.”

With the closing date looming entries continue to pour in for the 2010 Hansa Powerade Fish marathon, with over 70 K3’s already confirmed for the new field. The race organisers have taken the bold step of officially recognising the K3 class this year, and will award separate class prizes to the top K3s for the first time.

Last year the K3 crew of Matt Bouman, Herman Chalupsky and Andre Pohl raced into the top ten overall, covering the 82km course in just over 5 hours, fanning the debate about the possibility of a K3 craft ever winning the race outright.

With a new world record entry of K3s this year, including a number of highly competitive crews, the chance of another K3 racing into the top ten or higher is very realistic.

The Hansa Powerade Fish river canoe marathon takes place in Cradock on 1 and 2 October. More information can be found at www.fishmarathon.org.za