Madeira Island – The South African surfski team dominated the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships at Madeira Island on Friday with victories in five out of the six major championship races, while five and six SA paddlers finished within the top ten overall in the men’s and women’s events respectively.
The South African women were completely dominant, with Kira Bester winning overall for the U23 gold, and Michelle Burn finishing second to claim the senior title. Georgia Singe was the top junior in an impressive seventh overall to complete a clean-sweep of titles in the major championship events.
Other South African women to finish within the top ten overall were Melanie van Niekerk (fourth and second senior); Saskia Hockly (fifth and third U23) and Jade Wilson (ninth and fourth U23).
In the men’s race, German Gordan Harbrecht became the first European to win the World Championships when he beat defending champion Cory Hill from Australia with South African legend Hank McGregor third.
Matt Fenn was fourth overall to claim the men’s U23 title, while Sam Mocke is the new junior world champion.
Other South African men in the top ten were former World Champions Kenny Rice (fifth) and Nic Notten (sixth) and Uli Hart (10th and third U23).
The new Women’s World Champion said she really had to work hard for her title, both on the water and in the preparation for the event.
“I actually can’t describe the race in a quick way because it was as long as hell and the conditions were so diverse,” said Bester once she had a chance to reflect on her victory. “Basically there was a downwind, then there was a headwind, then there was a flat section, a bumpy section and they kind of chopped and turned the whole time, so it was a very very difficult course.
“Even though it was a short distance, it felt like an aeon and it was very, very, very challenging.”
Bester stayed further inshore than her rivals on the race from Machico to Funchal, and when the two groups met after about nine kilometres of the 21km race, she had a small lead over Burn.
“That was not the plan at all. I actually wanted to put in a much bigger gap prior to us coming back together. I thought that the initial downwind section was going to last a bit longer, so I’d kind of like planned my game-plan around the fact that maybe the downwind would carry on to about 13 kilometres and I could rest a bit. That was a bit problematic for my plan because I pushed so hard and then didn’t have much left.
“It ended up being good, but I think a deeper line would have been a better choice, because I could have avoided the tidal currents, but I’m obviously very happy with how the race turned out.
“It’s an incredible feeling to have won because it is kind of the pinnacle of all my hard work coming together and paying off. I have sacrificed so much to get here and you don’t know whether it’s actually going to pay off in the end.
“It’s not just the sacrifices of myself, it’s the sacrifices from all the people around me that have supported me and motivated me to be consistent and push through on the days that I don’t want to go to training.
“So it’s an achievement for all the people that backed me – my family, my team, my coaches and basically my whole club. It’s a really awesome feeling, but I want it to be not just my achievements. I wanted it to be achievement for all those that have backed me since day one.”
Not surprisingly South Africa hold a huge lead in the medal table after Day 1 with their age-group paddlers Simon Willmot (Masters 65-69 – Gold), Mat Carlisle (Master 65-69– Silver), and Russell Seymour (Master 55-59 – Bronze) adding three age group medals to take the tally up to 14. Spain is second with eight, followed by Germany and hosts Portugal.
SELECTED RESULTS
Men
Overall
1 Gordan Harbrecht (GER) 01:27:31.69
2 Cory Hill (AUS) 01:28:24.62
3 Hank McGregor (RSA) 01:28:34.35
4 Matthew Fenn (RSA – U23) 01:29:19.20
5 Kenneth Rice (RSA) 01:29:33.76
6 Nicholas Notten (RSA) 01:29:59.99
7 Bernardo Pereira (POR – U23) 01:30:35.11
8 Hector Henot (FRA) 01:30:49.56
9 Pierre Vilella (FRA) 01:31:35.50
10 Uli Hart (RSA – U23) 01:31:50.92
U23
1 Matthew Fenn (RSA) 01:29:19.20
2 Bernardo Pereira (POR) 01:30:35.11
3 Uli Hart (RSA) 01:31:50.92
Jun
1 Sam Mocke (RSA) 01:35:59.74
2 Heath Clarke (RSA) 01:36:07.27
3 Terry Michael (GBR) 01:40:29.13
Women
Overall
1 Kira Bester (RSA – U23) 01:43:39.79
2 Michelle Burn (RSA) 01:44:01.56
3 Katriana Swetish (USA – U23) 01:45:16.51
4 Melanie van Niekerk (RSA) 01:45:16.84
5 Saskia Hockly (RSA – U23) 01:47:00.39
6 Judit Verges (ESP) 01:47:31.57
7 Georgia Singe (RSA – Jun) 01:47:48.22
8 Chloe Bunnett (ESP) 01:49:25.92
9 Jade Wilson (RSA – U23) 01:50:56.41
10 Amaia Osaba (ESP) 01:51:37.66
U23
1 Kira Bester (RSA) 01:43:39.79
2 Katriana Swetish (USA) 01:45:16.51
3 Saskia Hockly (RSA) 01:47:00.39
Jun
1 Georgia Singe (RSA) 01:47:48.22
2 Holly Smith (RSA) 01:56:56.97
3 Lara Cellier (ESP) 01:58:46.54
South African medal winners:
Senior Men: Hank McGregor – Bronze
U23 Men: Matt Fenn – Gold
U23 Men: Uli Hart – Bronze
Junior Men: Sam Mocke – Gold
Junior Men: Heath Clarke – Silver
Senior Women: Michelle Burn – Gold
Senior Women: Melanie van Niekerk – Silver
U23 Women: Kira Bester – Gold
U23 Women: Saskia Hockly – Bronze
Jun Women: Georgia Singe – Gold
Jun Women: Holly Smith – Silver
Master 65-69 Men: Simon Willmot – Gold
Master 65-69 Men: Mat Carlisle – Silver
Master 55-59 Men: Russell Seymour – Bronze
