Fenn & Hockly give SA a strong start

DURBAN — The ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships began with drama and a South African clean-sweep of major mixed doubles titles on Saturday – which the local singles paddlers hope is a precursor to a flood of medals at the main singles event on Sunday.

The first race of the Championships, the mixed doubles race from Durban to Amanzimtoti on Saturday, was an overwhelming success for South Africa with Matt Fenn and Saskia Hockly winning the title ahead of Thaïs Delrieux and Hector Henot from France, while Hamish Lovemore and Jenna Nisbet in third snatched a dramatic second senior medal for the hosts.

South Africa also claimed victory in the junior and U23 categories to secure a clean-sweep of the three major titles, which will give a confidence boost to the local singles paddlers who face a strong European and Australasian challenge on Sunday.

The three men’s favourites for Sunday’s singles race, from DUC to Westbrook, north of Durban, are the top three from 2024. Ballito local Hank McGregor is desperate for a home-town win, but he will have to beat the two men that bested him 12 months ago: German defending champion Gordan Harbrecht and the world’s most consistent ocean racer, Australian Cory Hill.

The mixed doubles results, packed with French and Spanish medallists, show just how the sport has developed away from a purely southern hemisphere offshoot of lifesaving, and Europeans Pierre Vilella from France, Bernardo Periera from Portugal and Walter Bouzan from Spain are all contenders on Sunday.

However, there is no doubt the host nation is the team with depth. South Africans with potential to add to the medal tally on Sunday include Uli Hart, the 2024 SA Champion on virtually the same course being used on Sunday; the current SA Champion Nic Notten and fellow former World Champion Kenny Rice; and brothers Joshua and Matt Fenn, who have both been U23 World Champions.

The women’s race could be an all-South African dice with the two favourites being the two World Champions, 2024 winner Kira Bester from Cape Town and 2021 winner Durban’s Michelle Burn. However, 2019 champion Dani Richards from New Zealand is also very capable of spoiling the home-town party.

Two of the women’s podium contenders, Saturday’s winner and U23 favourite Hockly, and 2024 bronze medallist Judit Vergés from Spain, both had tough mixed doubles races and must face questions over their ability to produce another top-level performances just one day later.

Other South African women’s contenders include two-time medallist Melanie van Niekerk, former U23 World Champion Jade Wilson, last year’s junior World Champion Georgia Singe, Nisbet, Pippa McGregor and Nix Birkett.

In Saturday’s race, Fenn and Hockly took control virtually from the hooter and were never really in trouble after a “great start” by the eventual winners.

“I think the race was a bit like flipping a coin,” said Fenn shortly after emerging from the shore break at Amanzimtoti. “We had a great jump start and managed to get through the surf … I don’t think we got touched by the waves.

“Getting to the first turning buoy first was the pivotal point and we were really lucky, and from there we were in a good place.”

While the winner were praising their luck, there was no shortage of skill involved as Fenn deftly threaded his way through some tricky surf conditions at the finish – something those behind him were not all able to do, which had major implications for the podium positions.

In surf conditions that saw a rescue boat capsized, Delrieux and Henot were able to negotiate the finish, but the Spanish pairing of 2023 champions and 2024 bronze medallists, Judit Vergés and Walter Bouzán, were heavily dumped. They looked to have third-place almost secure before the difficult swim allowed Lovemore and Nisbet to sneak through and claim the final step on the podium.

A bit further back, last year’s junior champions, Hout Bay siblings Holly and Ryley Smith, teamed up with Heath Clarke and Ellen Strydom respectively to win gold in the U23 and junior races.

In the U23 race, Sara Mengual and Pablo St Mary Palmero from Spain just edged out the French duo of Margaux Bouteloup and Tanguy Cattelle for silver. In the juniors, Spaniards Ariadne Gimenez and Pau Sanchez took second place, with South Africans Madison Fourie and Matthew Coetzer rounding out that podium.

FULL RESULTS