Four-man dogfight makes the Dusi 'interesting'

19 February 2015 - 02:04 By Khanyiso Tshwaku
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Dusi Canoe Marathon Picture: THULI DLAMINI
Dusi Canoe Marathon Picture: THULI DLAMINI

All that is missing from the Dusi Canoe Marathon resumé of Sbonelo Khwela is a K1 win, but, with the calibre of the competition he is facing, getting that accolade is far easier said than done.

Andy Birkett, Lance Kime and Thulani Mbanjwa are not small-time competitors and, with each man on his own in the K1, friend will become foe over the 120km race that starts today at the Natal Canoe Club in Pietermaritzburg.

The 27-year-old Khwela said nominating a favourite was not easy because all four of them were capable of winning. Birkett won the K1 in 2011, at the tender age of 20, and Kime is the defending K1 champion.

Khwela said the fact that each individual has his fate in his own hands makes the K1 race all the more interesting.

"I can't speak for everyone but I do get a feeling that we all like taking part in the K1 race because it is an individual race and you pretty much know how strong you are. With the K2 race there is more teamwork, but you don't always know how strong you are," he said.

"I know I'm a far stronger runner than I am a paddler, but I have done a lot of work in terms of improving my paddling because guys like Andy and Lance are very strong paddlers and they will be difficult to beat in the water."

Khwela will be taking part in his 10th Dusi and has last year's K2 title, which he shares with Birkett, to show for his efforts.

He reckons today's 42km first stage from Camps Drift to the Dusi Bridge will be the hardest, especially from a mental perspective, as the pace has to be set and there are more portages than in any other stage of the race.

There is also the issue of low water levels and the E.coli bacteria levels in the water, which have increased because of heavy rainfall, technical failures and the effects of load-shedding at the Darvill Wastewater Works.

The low water levels test the skills of paddlers and the big concern is potential damage to canoes from exposed rocks.

Khwela said the leader on day one was often odds-on to win the race.

"It's harder being in the chasing pack, because all your energy goes into catching the leader. If you start badly, you then just need to focus on your own race and let the other things sort themselves out."

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