Birkett and Fenn win men’s, Solms and Behn take women’s Dusi races

Andy Birkett and Matthew Fenn and Abby Solms and Jessica Behn did what was expected on Saturday and duly wrapped up their 2024 Dusi Canoe Marathon titles, though for the men’s winners, the stage from Inanda Dam to Durban nearly turned into a disaster.

It was Birkett’s 14th victory and he takes his “Crown Prince” title to within one win of the remarkable record of 15 by “Dusi King” Graeme Pope-Ellis achieved in the 1970s and 80s.

Team My Life’s Msawenkosi Mtolo and Sbonelo Khwela ended 6min 14sec behind in second position in the men’s race, but will take heart from the fact they kept the leaders under pressure for the entire event.

The stars of the final day were third-placed Bongani Ntinga and Sandile Mtolo who produced a blistering final stage. By recording the fastest time for day three — 5min quicker than Birkett and Fenn — they could finally break the deadlock for the race for the podium and relegate Banetse Nkhoesa and Siseko Ntondini to fourth.

In the women’s battle, Bridgitte Hartley and Hilary Bruss claimed second after losing 4min to Solms and Behn over the final stage to end 14min behind overall. Jenna Nisbet and Nix Birkett rounded out the podium 11min further back.

This was Solms’ fourth victory and puts her up as one of the most successful women’s Dusi paddlers. The late decision for the winner of the 2016, 2017 and 2022 races to team up with the matric schoolgirl proved a masterstroke.

Behn, a pupil at Epworth School in Pietermaritzburg, is believed to be the youngest winner in the race’s history and is clearly heading for a great future in the sport.

“I think each of my wins is pretty special in their own way, but Jess and my partnership was such a late decision,” Solms said. “We only decided mid-December — so two months ago we would not have thought this could happen. For it to come together so quickly is unbelievable.”

While the women’s champions enjoyed an uneventful cruise to the title, Birkett and Fenn thought victory had slipped from their grasp when they got lost on a small portage around Five Fingers Rapid.

“After we jumped in at Tops [Needle Rapid], I thought I was driving well and I was not hitting many rocks,” Birkett said. “We had a few mishaps on day one and two when we got some holes in the boat and took in quite a bit of water. So I thought maybe today it would go according to plan. We planned to have a conservative race and take no risks.

“Then at Five Fingers we heard it was a compulsory portage and we got so lost trying to find the river again. At one point we were bushwhacking and I said to Matt, ‘We are stuffed, it’s race over’.

“We were literally leopard-crawling through the undergrowth and throwing the boat over the top. But Matt was determined and said, ‘I can see the water, so we can get there’.

“When we got going, back in [the river], we did not know if the guys were ahead of us or not. It was only when we got splits at Pumphouse that we knew the guys were not ahead of us.