Photo by Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media

The Varsity College Sports Life student, having missed the opening two races of the series due to river races, showed just what sort of form he is in and reminded many of his superb ocean paddling skills despite being better known to many for his efforts in the river.

“Matt (Bouman) and I both got off to really good starts and soon we opened up a gap over my brother (Brandon van der Walt),” explained van der Walt. “From then on it became a tactical race and we worked together as we tried to catch the leading doubles.”

“We knew it would come down to the last can and a sprint up the beach and fortunately I had the pull going into the last can which is always an advantage and it was then about being the fastest person out the boat and across the line.”

“Its always nice to start the season with a win and last year I was struggling to stay with Hank (McGregor) and Matt (Bouman) so tonight’s win definitely gives me a bit of confidence for the rest of the series,” he added.

Having spent the majority of 2011 as part of the sprint squad Friday’s win signals a strong return for van der Walt and the former junior world marathon champ is hungry to build on this solid foundation in races to come.

“I’m now able to really focus my week around the series’ race on a Friday evening and I’m just really loving being able to paddle on the ocean again,” said Team Best 4 Kayak Centre member van der Walt.

“We haven’t had a race with everyone on the line just yet though so I’m looking forward to when that does happen but with guys being away its given some of the other guys an opportunity to shine and with some guys having done really nicely in the first two races its given them good confidence and has already started to bridge the gap between the first two or three and the rest of the top guys,” he added.

van der Walt’s younger brother Brandon raced his way to the bottom step of the podium behind 2011 series runner-up Bouman, whilst Mr. Consistency Oliver Burn claimed fourth.

In the ladies race it was series’ defending champ Michelle Eder of Amanzimtoti who also made a strong comeback to the series which has a very special place in her heart as she cruised to her victory in her first outing in 2012 ahead of Varsity College Sports Life student Jenna Ward.

“It really was great to finally be back in the ski again. I wasn’t quite used to the bumpy nature of the ocean compared to flatwater so it took a bit of getting used to in the beginning but I didn’t fall out which was great!” said Eder.

“After five or so kilometres I was definitely starting to hurt but it was just great to get back into it again and I was so stoked to see so many girls on the line whether in a double or a single.”

“The series is quite wide open now so I’m really hoping everyone will be here next week and we can all have a bit of a dice,” she chuckled.

Highway brothers Adam and Luke Nisbet added another win to their tally and the pair look to be hot favourites for the title in the doubles section as they use the series as superb training ahead of next month’s The Unlimited Dusi canoe marathon.

“We’re feeling good at the moment and are now starting to get some of our speed back which is great, even though it is quite a short race,” said younger brother Adam. “We’re obviously really happy with the win, especially with us being up against a really strong doubles field tonight.”

In the short course singles Mthembeni Mkhize crossed the line in pole position whilst Wayne and Elijah Symington claimed the spoils in the short course doubles category.

The Thule Surfski Challenge, race four of the Varsity College Marine Surfski Series takes place at 17h30 on 3 February. More info can be found at www.marineseries.co.za

SUMMARY OF RESULTS – BUDDYS DESIGNATED DRIVERS SURFSKI CHALLENGE
THIRD LEG OF THE VARSITY COLLEGE MARINE SURFSKI SERIES

LONG COURSE
SINGLES – MEN
1.Grant van der Walt 35.09
2.Matt Bouman 35.13
3.Brandon van der Walt 36.05
4.Oliver Burn 38.09
5.Murray Smith 38.35
6.Herman Chalupsky 38.41
7.Gavin Searle 39.51
8.Michael Collins 39.56
9.Mark Ussher 40.08
10.Byron McKie 40.18

SINGLES – WOMEN
1.Michelle Eder 42.05
2.Jenna Ward 48.07
3.Sharon Armstrong 51.26

DOUBLES
1.Adam Nisbet/Luke Nisbet 33.42
2.Mark Mulder/David Chaplin 34.14
3.Brett Challenor/Brett Bartho 34.39

SHORT COURSE
SINGLES
1.Mthembeni Mkhize 26.31
2.Kevin Waterston 26.48
3.Ryan Roberts 26.51

DOUBLES
1.Wayne Symington/Elijah Symington 26.35
2.Jody Taylor/Mitch Lupton 26.38
3.Steve Kitto/Philip Colepeper 26.41

Press Release by Gameplan Media.

Perth, Australia: Freshwater’s Tim Jacobs today became the first man to win back-to-back Doctor ocean ski events in hot, flat, unforgiving conditions in Perth.

And he did it with a dose of salt tablets and some lessons learnt along the way from paddling legend and one of his main opponents, five-time Olympian Clint Robinson.

The 36-year-old father of three (soon to be four) admitted the near millpond conditions tested every muscle in his body through the gruelling 27.5km paddle from Rottnest Island to Sorrento Beach.

In the end, Jacobs, who won the race with a sprint finish to the line last year, was too good for a classy international field.

He was a comfortable winner, leaving South African brothers Jasper and Dawid Mocke to battle it out for second and third.

Olympian Robinson, who pushed for the lead through most of the race, battled cramping in his arms, to finish seventh.

Jacobs, who said he loaded up on salt tablets to help maintain his fluid, said he actually took a leaf out of Robinson’s book to seal the victory.

“The pace through the first four kilometres was probably too fast and I knew we couldn’t keep it up,” said Jacobs.

“It was important to try and paddle as relaxed as I could so I settled into a nice rhythm behind Clint.

“I could see how relaxed and fluent he was, looking around and aware of where he was.

“So I decided to do the same and to make  the most out of every little runner that came along.

“I just kept chasing and concentrating on my rhythm and with in a couple of kilometres I had pulled away.

No sprint finish this year

“I wanted to make sure there was no sprint finish thus year.”

Robinson paid tribute to Jacobs and said when the time came to push it in the run home his arms cramped up.

“It was pretty uncomfortable and when the cramping came it was all over,” said Robinson .

“But up until that point Tim and I and the Mocke boys were having great paddle.

“Tim is so experienced at these paddles he gave me a few tips as well.

“Next time I will take some salt tablets to help maintain my fluids.”

Women’s Race

Scarborough’s 36-year-old Ruth Highman showed her persistence to win her first doctor in seven starts and maintain her reputation as the finest ocean ski paddler in the country.

Highman  won comfortably from Claire Duncan and Kylie Broad.

The Stand Up Paddle category went to Hawaian teen machine Connor Baxter.

Results Summary

Click here for the full results

1. Tim Jacobs (Aus) 1:50:10
2. Jasper Mocke (SA) 1:50:44
3. Dawid Mocke (SA) 1:51:54
4. Michael Booth (Aus) 01:52:20
5. Bruce Taylor (Au s) 01:52:46

Women

1. Ruth Highman (Aus) 02:15:36
2. Claire Duncan (Aus) 02:24:02
3. Kylie Broad (Aus) 02:35:01

For more information: www.oceanpaddler.com

Image by Gameplan Media

McGregor and Jenkins raced the majority of the 70km of the race side by side, until world marathon champ McGregor powered his way to the front on the final corner to claim his third victory in as many years at the event.

The duo finished the first stage together, with the tussle resumed on day two and it wasn’t long before things turned to into a colossal battle with neither willing to give an inch on the water nor the slightest of psychological advantage.

With strong rains having arrived on Saturday afternoon and continued throughout the night the mighty Umzimkulu rose to the occasion and provided the perfect setting for the spectacle which developed between some of the country’s top river paddlers.

“It was just superb out there today! It’s always great to win the Drak, especially with it being the first major race of the season so I’m really chuffed with the good start to the year and to have become the first person ever to have won three titles in a row in a K1,” said McGregor.

“Len (Jenkins) and I had a great race and spent a lot of time together on the water. I always thought it would come down to an end sprint so I just tried to keep my nose front as much as I could today and then fortunately I managed to get the jump on him over last bit and get home first which I’m really chuffed about,” he added.

With the duo set to combine in the same boat in less than a month’s time when they look to tackle The Unlimited Dusi together, all bodes well judging by the form both paddlers displayed in Underberg this weekend.

“Len’s (Jenkins) a phenomenal competitor and it was great to be able to battle it out with him for the past two days. It was great to paddle through the valley with some company today and we definitely push each other throughout,” said McGregor.

“We’re both in great shape and this weekend just reinforced how strong our paddling is at the moment and it was a huge confidence for us to have finished first and second. It just shows how similar our standard is and hopefully that can lead to good things at Dusi.”

Having dropped Jenkins on the compulsory portage at Mineshaft Weir McGregor then held the lead for thirty minutes before Jenkins eventually managed to claw his way back at the leader it just wasn’t enough and last year’s runner-up once again had to settle for the second step on the podium.

“I couldn’t have hoped for too much coming into this race. I’ve been doing loads of running recently and Hank (McGregor) just had a really good one today so I’m not too disappointed,” said Jenkins.

“Hank (McGregor) put in a little further down than I did after the portage and he managed to get ahead. I then managed to close the gap and tried to take it away at the end but I was in the wrong position coming into the end sprint,” he added. “We’re both feeling good at the moment though so hopefully now we can just have a good Dusi together,” he added.

Having suffered at the hands of the low opening day Team Best 4 Kayak Centre’s Grant van der Walt had a stormer of a second day and after starting the day in fifth position he then powered his way to third place overall and in the process broke his own day two record time.

“I had a really had a bad day yesterday but the water was just perfect for me today. I did my best not to worry too much about the guys behind me and just tried to focus on catching the guys in front of me,” said van der Walt.

“I knew there was no point in trying to just finish third so I went out there trying to catch Hank and Len and I just put my head down and went for it. I managed to catch Ant (Stott) and then my brother (Brandon van der Walt) but the top two were just too strong,” he added.

Brandon van der Walt crossed the line shortly after his older brother and completed another resounding day for the newly formed Team Best 4 Kayak Centre and they claimed all four top positions in the men’s race before leading lady and fellow team member Robyn Kime claimed her first Drak victory.

Image by Actionography/Gameplan media

Kime, having started the day with a lead of over seven minutes, set her about her business early on and stretched her lead over her nearest rival by a further minute and finally broke her Drak hoodoo which has seen her finish second for the past three years.

“It’s always really great to win a race for the first time and the Drak is one of my favourite races so to have won today really is fantastic!” said Kime. “Hopefully it is a sign of things to come this year.”

“Everything went so smoothly for me today. I didn’t make any mistakes which was great and it was nice to be able to race against and work with the men.”

“The guys work really hard and put in some really tough intervals over the flats so I certainly had to work a lot harder than usual but it was nice for things to be competitive and I definitely think I went a lot faster,” he added.

One of the performances of the day belonged to women’s defending champ Abby Adie of Team Best 4 Kayak Centre as she managed to lift herself from a disappointing first day and work her way into a solid second place behind Kime.

“I had a great start today and just worked with the guys around me early which helped me catch Abbey (Ulansky) at the first weir,” said Adie. “Once I caught Jen (Hodson) I just tried to race my own race and, besides a stupid swim right at the very end which fortunately didn’t cost me anything, I was very happy with how everything went.”

“Yesterday was very disappointing but at the start of the weekend I was hoping for a podium finish so I’m still very happy,” she added.

In the junior boys section it was Emile Theunissen from Gauteng who managed to get ahead of KZN based Murray Starr and Murray Haw whilst in the junior girls it was Brittany Petersen who claimed the victory ahead of Jordan Peek and Bianca Haw.

More information can be found at www.drak.co.za

ENDS

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
DAY TWO OF THE GLOBAL TRADER DRAK CHALLENGE

Men
1.Hank McGregor 2:16.32 3:56.11
2.Len Jenkins 2:16.43 3:56.22
3.Grant van der Walt (U23) 2:15.08 3:58.21
4.Brandon van der Walt (U23) 2:17.36 3:59.26
5.Greg Louw 2:21.13 4:06.17
6.Ant Stott 2:23.27 4:06.18
7.Shaun Griffin 2:21.22 4:06.27
8.Jacques Theron 2:21.30 4:08.45
9.Jeffrey Smith 2:21.32 4:08.46
10.Andrew Birkett (U23)2:21.00 4:11.06

U23 Men
1.Grant van der Walt 2:15.08 3:58.21
2.Brandon van der Walt 2:17.36 3:59.26
3.Andrew Birkett 2:21.00 4:11.06

U18 Men
1.Emile Theunissen 2:24.21 4:15.10
2.Murray Starr 2:28.34 4:19.19
3.Murray Haw 2:27.04 4:20.52

Women
1.Robyn Kime (U23) 2:26.49 4:19.05
2.Abby Adie (U23) 2:27.55 4:28.40
3.Jen Hodson 2:31.02 4:30.30
4.Abbey Ulansky 2:36.43 4:36.13
5.Brittany Petersen (U18) 2:37.02 4:41.47

U23 Women
1.Robyn Kime 2:26.49 4:19.05
2.Abby Adie 2:27.55 4:28.40
3.Brittany Petersen (U18) 2:37.02 4:41.47

U18 Women
1.Brittany Petersen 2:37.02 4:41.47
2.Jordan Peek 2:41.31 4:44.29
3.Bianca Haw (U16) 2:40.18 4:49.14

Image by Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media

The Team Best 4 Kayak Centre paddler bravely battled her way through debilitating stomach cramps during this past weekend’s Best 4 Healthcare Rietvlei Rumble in Johannesburg however the after effects of her courageous efforts could well come back to haunt the defending champ at this weekend’s Southern Drakensberg spectacle.

“This past weekend certainly wasn’t great and now I’ve been struggling with a bit of a cold for a day or two which isn’t ideal,” said Adie. “At one stage I was even considering giving this weekend a miss so as not to impact on my Dusi preparations too much.”

“I’m at the lowest point in my Dusi training at the moment and I’m not quite one hundred percent but I’ve taken a couple of days off so I’hopefully I’ll be fine this weekend and I’ll be out there giving it my all,” she added.

After being some way off the pace in Johannesburg and now with her having to manage her health carefully Adie will do well to put her recent distractions out of her mind and focus on trying to become the first woman ever to win a hat-trick of Drak titles.

“I don’t think this past weekend will be too much of a setback for me but it does play on the mind a bit so hopefully I can get out there this weekend, pick things up a bit and get the confidence back up,” said Adie.

“I would absolutely love to make it three wins in a row and I think it will also be quite a special year this year with the extra financial incentive that is up for grabs but it certainly will be a very tough race,” she added.

With the technical nature of the route and little rain predicted for the few days leading up to the race many are preparing for a low water level however it takes a brave soul to predict just what will happen in the mighty uMzimkhulu River.

“I don’t enjoy a low river too much so I would definitely prefer it if there was a bit of water in the river this weekend,” said Adie. “Last year’s race and this year’s Fast Drak levels were great so I’m definitely hoping it will rain in the few days before the race and that it fills up a bit.”

“I used to shy away from bigger water a little but since winning Fish last year with Hilary (Pitchford) and Umko my confidence when its gets big has certainly improved a lot and I’d definitely prefer it to be fuller rather than lower this weekend,” she added.

Adie will enjoy a strong tussle at the front of the women’s race as she looks to claim the recently introduced Margie Oliver trophy for the second consecutive year as well as a hat-trick of ladies’ titles.

The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 21 and 22 January 2012. More info can be found at www.drak.co.za

Image by Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media

The 2011 season, in which McGregor was unbeaten in domestic river racing post The Unlimited Dusi and went on to claim the world marathon championship title in Singapore, was one of great success for the race’s defending champion.

However, the new year brings with it fresh challenges and new goals for McGregor and he is hungry to add yet another record to his mightily impressive list of paddling achievements.

“Its always great to head up to Underberg and take on some of the best K1 specialists around. The Drak is such a great race and it would be absolutely fantastic to win it again this year,” said McGregor.

“Obviously I’d love be the first to win the race three times in a row in a single but I’ve always said that you only worry about stats once you’re across the finish line so we’ll just have to wait and see how things go this weekend,” he added.

With many of the country’s top river paddlers set to take on this year’s event McGregor will have his work cut out for him at the first of the majors on the paddling calendar, however the Ballito based paddling sensation is keen and ready for the challenge.

“It would be an incredible start to the year if I was able to get the win this weekend and it would hopefully set the tone for things to come but last year the competition was tough and this year looks like it could be even tougher so who knows what might happen,” said McGregor.

“Ant Stott has been injured recently but you can never write him off, Grant and Brandon van der Walt have been working hard and are hungry for a win and then there’s my Dusi partner Len Jenkins who on his day can be deadly so it’s certainly not going to be easy by any means,” he added.

McGregor’s presence on the start line will guarantee a no-holds barred tussle at the front of the race as the cream of the country’s river racers aim to topple the defending champion and register a rare victory over the new world champion.

The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 21 and 22 January 2012. More info can be found at www.drak.co.za

Image by Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media

Having enjoyed great success in a K2 last year with fellow Team Best 4 Kayak Centre teammate McGregor, van der Walt believes he now has both the ability and is ready to take on the county’s top paddlers and start adding major K1 titles to his slew of doubles victories.

“Obviously Hank (McGregor) and I combined really well last year and it was really awesome to win some big races with him but I would also like to start being a bit more competitive in a K1 this year and I would love to claim my first major domestic K1 river title,” said van der Walt.

“I grew up doing river racing and the Drak has always been a very special race for me. I’ve had a few thirds there and the last Drak I did I came second so I would really like to try go one better this year.”

“I’ve always absolutely loved the Drak and it would be such a cherry on the top for me if I could win my first K1 title up there!” he added.

After enjoying a few weeks off in Mozambique just before Christmas and having missed last year’s race due sprint commitments, van der Walt is well rested and looking forward to giving his race of choice his all next weekend.

“There isn’t any running at all which is obviously a huge plus for me but in my eyes it is just the best paddling race in the country! The rapids are great fun, the water is so clean and paddling in the mountains is spectacular!” said van der Walt

“The Drak is my favourite paddling venue in the entire world and a race I look forward to every year! I was extremely disappointed I couldn’t take part in it last year but I will most certainly be there this time round and giving it everything I have!” he added.

With a star studded line-up on the cards this year victory certainly won’t come easy for van der Walt however the rest of the field would be well advised to keep a beady eye on this paddling talent as he seeks to claim that elusive first K1 title.

His silver medal in 2010 came off the back of a brilliant second stage where his solo charge from behind the leaders saw him post the fastest time of the final day.

“You never know what could happen on the day but I definitely feel I have the speed, I have the endurance and I know I can do it!” said van der Walt.

“Now it’s all about making sure I’m right ready for the race and then being prepared to do whatever it takes, even try out sprint the rest of the guys if it comes down to that, to try claim the win!” he added.

The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 21 and 22 January 2012. More info can be found at www.drak.co.za

First identify the highs and lows of your past season. Remember, sometimes you learn more from your lows than your highs, so don’t push them to the back of your memory!

Run through all the races you competed in, and write down the good and bad parts of each. How you felt, what you did in terms of tactics and pacing, what you ate/drank, where you felt your strongest/weakest, and anything else you did or didn’t do that had an affect on your overall performance.

Now look at your “lessons” and decide how you are going to apply them to your planning and training to become a better athlete.If it’s a nutrition issue, make a concerted effort to try new fuel plans in training, and get into a routine. If it’s a strength factor, work out how you are going to incorporate that into your training. Did you forget to warm up? Make a habit of warming up before training sessions in a similar way to race day so that it becomes a natural process.

Looking back on the year is a great tool for improving on the future, try make even the negatives become positives by never making the same mistake again. Let go the past, and now look forward to a super 2012!