Monday, 14 June 2010 08:51
Eray and McGregor win K1 titles
Keurbooms - South Africa’s top marathon paddlers enjoyed a perfect day of racing at the annual Hansa SA Canoe Marathon Championships - sunny and calm with only the slightest breeze. This year's Marathon Champs were once again held on the picturesque Keurbooms River just outside of Plettenberg Bay and were hosted in a joint venture by the Knysna and Plettenberg Bay Canoe clubs.
The Seniors and U23 Men’s racing provided for some exciting spectating, with Hank McGregor and U23 Grant van der Walt racing neck and neck over the seven laps of the 30km course. McGregor and van der Walt ended the race a mere 4 seconds apart, with McGregor claiming the Gold. Marc Holtzhausen finished in third overall, less than a second ahead of the second placed U23, Lance King. In the Junior Men’s category, Brandon van der Walt snatched the title from Ivan Kruger by only a 6 second margin.
In a disappointing Senior and U23 ladies field, depleted by Bridgitte Hartley’s commitment to the SA Sprint squad, and other competitors choosing to focus on the K2 event, Michele Eray raced away in a class of her own, finishing 8 minutes ahead of U21 Bianca Beavitt. Impressively, 11 ladies competed in the veterans and above race. In the Junior girls racing, U16 Kerry Segal continued the excellent form shown at the SA Sprint Championships, to win the U/16 and U18 race, less than a second ahead of U18 Melanie van Niekerk.
Tomorrows K2 racings promises to be an exciting event with the world class pairings of Grant van der Walt and Hank McGregor, Ant Stott and Graeme Solomon, Piers Cruikshanks and Jacques Theron, as well as Lance King and Sean Rice coming into play. The Ladies K2 racing looks set to be dominated by Abby Adie and Lindi-May Harmsen.
http://samarathonchamps.wordpress.com.
Girls U18 and U16
1. Kerry Segal 1:38:58
2. Melanie van Niekerk 1:39:22
3. Marisa Pretorius 1:44:27
Boys U18 and U16
1. Brandon van Der Walt 1:45:57
2. Ivan Kruger 1:46:03
3. Joseph Williams 1:52:52
Senior and U23 Women
1. Michele Eray 2:09:15
2. Bianca Beavitt 2:17:28 (U21)
Senior and U23 Men
1. Hank McGregor 2:17:44
2. Grant van der Walt 2:17:44 (U21)
3. Marc Holtzhausen 2:19:11
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