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TO SAY Hank McGregor has dominated the Berg River Canoe Marathon is the understatement of the decade — he has owned it.
On Saturday, as he has done so often, he crossed the finishing line in Veldriff in first place to register back-to-back victories and his 11th overall from 13 starts.
The 38-year-old, six-time world marathon champion clocked 4hr 17min 32 sec for the 62km final stage from Zoutkloof to Veldriff, and 17hr 37min 39 sec overall for the four-stage 240km race that started in Paarl. His winning margin over second-placed Simon van Gysen was a tad over seven-and-a-half minutes.
The pair put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack that had Hungarian Berg novice Adrian Boros completing the podium after a gutsy comeback over the final days. The world marathon K2 champion more than held his own for most of the race, but he ended up paying a heavy price for getting lost on the river during the short second stage.
He paddled into cul-de-sacs on three occasions and lost more than 17 minutes on the leaders and this dented any hopes he had of challenging for the title.
McGregor was in a league of his own throughout the race. The Euro Steel/Kayak Centre star received a nasty gash on his forehead on the second stage after he connected with a tree. He required four stitches, but apart from that, it was pretty much plain sailing for the Durbanite, who won his first Berg at the second attempt in 2000.
"To win this race again is very special, made more special by having my family around," McGregor said.
"It was my boy’s birthday, my mom did a sterling job as my seconder, and then to have my wife and dad watching and offering words of encouragement lifts you big time. What more can a man ask for?"
McGregor’s father Lee was on hand to witness Hank’s victory and recall the early days.
"Hank deserves everything he has done because no one has worked harder for it. He told me as a 13-year-old that he wanted to become a world champion. I said to him that for that to happen, he would need to train harder than any other human has ever done. And he did just that.
"I worked him hard as a junior without holding back. When we were on the water, I wanted him to know that I was not his dad when we trained, I was his worst nightmare. But once we came off the water, I became his dad again. Now today, he’s on another planet when you compare what he’s done to that of his rivals. And I believe Hank hasn’t yet reached his peak."
McGregor added that he would return next year if the internationals keep coming back.
"For sure, I’m not racing for any other reason than to paddle against the best paddlers in the world. We had four overseas entrants and they were pushing me hard and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
"I’m sure the organisers of the Berg will be punting the race to such guys and the more we get, the better for the Berg. This race is a real tester and is easily the toughest ultra-marathon in the world, so here’s hoping the best make a point of coming to show what they’re made of."
Talking of the internationals, all four of them finished inside the top 10, with Boros the lead man in third. Czech star Petr Mojzisek home in sixth place ahead of Australians Brendon Rice and Josh Kippin in seventh and eighth.
"I battled on the first two days due to my size and not knowing the river well," Mojzisek said. "Being big in low-level river conditions made navigating through the trees difficult. The experience gained will only do my cause better and, hopefully, I’ll be back for another shot next year."
It was back-to-back victories for Western Province’s Bianca Beavitt in the women’s race.
Beavitt, who finished 24th overall, won three of the stages and posted an overall time of 20:27.14. The only downer for her was on the penultimate stage when she fell ill. It cost her the stage win, but she did go into it with nearly a half-an-hour lead over second-placed Nicole Russell.
"I’m really happy to have defended my title," said Beavitt.
"It was an easier experience than last year, with less tree blocks and more emphasis on technical ability."
Russell, who won stage three, came home in second place ahead of 2013 winner Jenna Ward, who took the under-23 title. Thomas Lovemore (13th overall in 117-strong field) won the men’s under-23 title, while Hamish Lovemore won the junior race ahead of Emanuel Zaloumis. Kyeta Purchase took top honours in the girls’ junior race.
Giel van Deventer deserves special mention for extending his record for the most Berg finishes with his 45th Berg medal, while Edgar Boehm added to his record tally of uninterrupted Berg finishes (44). Seventy-six-year-old Jannie Malherbe (who was part of the first Berg River Canoe Marathon 55 years ago) won the Super Grand Masters prize.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
McGregor is strokes ahead as king of Berg
TO SAY Hank McGregor has dominated the Berg River Canoe Marathon is the understatement of the decade — he has owned it.
On Saturday, as he has done so often, he crossed the finishing line in Veldriff in first place to register back-to-back victories and his 11th overall from 13 starts.
The 38-year-old, six-time world marathon champion clocked 4hr 17min 32 sec for the 62km final stage from Zoutkloof to Veldriff, and 17hr 37min 39 sec overall for the four-stage 240km race that started in Paarl. His winning margin over second-placed Simon van Gysen was a tad over seven-and-a-half minutes.
The pair put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack that had Hungarian Berg novice Adrian Boros completing the podium after a gutsy comeback over the final days. The world marathon K2 champion more than held his own for most of the race, but he ended up paying a heavy price for getting lost on the river during the short second stage.
He paddled into cul-de-sacs on three occasions and lost more than 17 minutes on the leaders and this dented any hopes he had of challenging for the title.
McGregor was in a league of his own throughout the race. The Euro Steel/Kayak Centre star received a nasty gash on his forehead on the second stage after he connected with a tree. He required four stitches, but apart from that, it was pretty much plain sailing for the Durbanite, who won his first Berg at the second attempt in 2000.
"To win this race again is very special, made more special by having my family around," McGregor said.
"It was my boy’s birthday, my mom did a sterling job as my seconder, and then to have my wife and dad watching and offering words of encouragement lifts you big time. What more can a man ask for?"
McGregor’s father Lee was on hand to witness Hank’s victory and recall the early days.
"Hank deserves everything he has done because no one has worked harder for it. He told me as a 13-year-old that he wanted to become a world champion. I said to him that for that to happen, he would need to train harder than any other human has ever done. And he did just that.
"I worked him hard as a junior without holding back. When we were on the water, I wanted him to know that I was not his dad when we trained, I was his worst nightmare. But once we came off the water, I became his dad again. Now today, he’s on another planet when you compare what he’s done to that of his rivals. And I believe Hank hasn’t yet reached his peak."
McGregor added that he would return next year if the internationals keep coming back.
"For sure, I’m not racing for any other reason than to paddle against the best paddlers in the world. We had four overseas entrants and they were pushing me hard and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
"I’m sure the organisers of the Berg will be punting the race to such guys and the more we get, the better for the Berg. This race is a real tester and is easily the toughest ultra-marathon in the world, so here’s hoping the best make a point of coming to show what they’re made of."
Talking of the internationals, all four of them finished inside the top 10, with Boros the lead man in third. Czech star Petr Mojzisek home in sixth place ahead of Australians Brendon Rice and Josh Kippin in seventh and eighth.
"I battled on the first two days due to my size and not knowing the river well," Mojzisek said. "Being big in low-level river conditions made navigating through the trees difficult. The experience gained will only do my cause better and, hopefully, I’ll be back for another shot next year."
It was back-to-back victories for Western Province’s Bianca Beavitt in the women’s race.
Beavitt, who finished 24th overall, won three of the stages and posted an overall time of 20:27.14. The only downer for her was on the penultimate stage when she fell ill. It cost her the stage win, but she did go into it with nearly a half-an-hour lead over second-placed Nicole Russell.
"I’m really happy to have defended my title," said Beavitt.
"It was an easier experience than last year, with less tree blocks and more emphasis on technical ability."
Russell, who won stage three, came home in second place ahead of 2013 winner Jenna Ward, who took the under-23 title. Thomas Lovemore (13th overall in 117-strong field) won the men’s under-23 title, while Hamish Lovemore won the junior race ahead of Emanuel Zaloumis. Kyeta Purchase took top honours in the girls’ junior race.
Giel van Deventer deserves special mention for extending his record for the most Berg finishes with his 45th Berg medal, while Edgar Boehm added to his record tally of uninterrupted Berg finishes (44). Seventy-six-year-old Jannie Malherbe (who was part of the first Berg River Canoe Marathon 55 years ago) won the Super Grand Masters prize.
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Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.