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 Amanzimtoti, South Africa - Hank McGregor heralded his return to the Discovery Men's Health
Surf Ski Series by retaining his title in the Hansa 5 Beaches race in emphatic
style.
Racing in glorious calm conditions
which made the stops at the three beaches between Umkomaas and Amanzimtoti
relatively easy to manage, McGregor held off the current series leader Matthew
Bouman to win the 20km race by just under two minutes.
The race was unusual, as two top contender started the race with the backmarkers
in E batch, who got under way five minutes before the elite seeded paddlers,
simply because Oscar Chalupsky and Bevan Manson had not done the season-starting
grading race.
That afforded the two seasoned ski racers the gilt-edged
chance to try and race away from the elite bunch starting behind
them.
 Hank McGregor trots up the beach (Photo: Samantha Carr/Gameplan Media)
McGregor took a gamble by staying close inshore, and managed to
work his way through the field quickly, and drop all the other elite racers in
the process.
By the first stop at Karridene beach, only Oscar Chalupsky
and Manson were in front of McGregor. As they headed into the beach portage at
Winklespruit, McGregor had overtaken Chalupsky and was closing in on
Manson.
However, as they approached the Warner Beach compulsory stop,
Manson unknowingly paddled straight past the compulsory portage. However he was
caught by McGregor, Bouman and Barry Lewin before the finish at Amanzimtoti, and
was then relegated to fifth after being slapped with a one minute penalty for
failing to come in for the third beach stop.
Toti surfski ace Tiffany
Kruger continued her iron-fisted domination of the woman class with a staggering
victory to extend her unbeaten run in this year's Discovery Men's Health Surf
Ski Series. She romped home to win by four minutes from Belinda Carbutt and
Nathalie Veckranges.
The double ski title went to Andrew Blackburn and
Craig Nortje, with Nikki Irvine and Hilary Pitchford beating Donna Winter and
Angelique Mulder to the women's double ski prize.
"It
was fantastic!" enthused McGregor, who showed very little signs of jetlag after
his lengthy flight back from Hawaii this week.
"It was such a beautiful
day. And the surf was awesome, with some really nice waves. It was a just a
fantastic day to be out for a paddle."
Women's winner Kruger agreed that
the race had coincided with absolutely ideal racing conditions for the race,
which included stops at Karridene, Winklespruit and Warner Beach. "It was
fantastic out there, with just a very light wind.
"There were not that many runs, but there was a nice shore break which
made it very exciting," Kruger added. "The surf sections helped me in some
places and disadvantaged me in others."
The race was a poignant tribute to
popular Amanzimtoti ski paddler Sam Wyer, who founded this race in the nineties.
Wyer was killed during an armed robbery at his home on the Amanzimtoti
beachfront last month.
"It could not have been a better day to be a ski
paddler," said winner Hank McGregor. "I had this strong feeling while I was out
enjoying the race that Sam was out there with us, looking after us."
The Discovery Men's Health Surf Ski
Series now shifts to the fifth leg at the Discovery Winklespruit race next
weekend. More information can be found at www.surfski.co.za
SUMMARY OF
RESULTS
Elite Men Single Ski:
1.Hank McGregor
1:18:42
2.Matthew Bouman 1:20:07
3.Barry Lewin 1:20:57
4.Daryl Bartho
1:21:25
5.Bevan Manson 1:20:59
Elite Women Single
Ski:
1.Tiffany Kruger 1:39:33
2.Belinda Carbutt 1:43:05
3.Natalie
Vergranges 1:45:35
Vet Single
Ski:
1.Oscar Chalupsky 1:22:30
2.Herman Chalupsky 01:23:37
3.Anton
Fouche 1:32:13
Master Single
Ski:
1.Mark Lewin 1:28:54
2.Nigel Stevens 1:32:01
3.Mike Davies
1:36:00
Junior Single
Ski:
1.Shaun Austin 1:36:38
2.Donovan Kennedy 1:39:38
3.Stembiso Mbhata 2:00:56
Grand Master
Single Ski:
1.Mickey Sadler 1:49:37
Overall Doubles
Long Course:
1.Craig Nortje and Andrew Blackburn 1:22:16
2.Brett Hadiaris
and Brent Chiazzari 1:23:02
3.Jaysen Golding and Shane Price
1:24:27
Vet Double
Ski:
1.Gary Waud and Glenn Hilliar 1:25:30
2.Mike Nichol and Andre Botha
1:27:50
Master Double Ski:
1.Bruce Roberston and Ted Waldburger
1:31:06
2.Stephen Evans and Geoff Thompson 1:31:26
Mixed
Doubles:
1.Michelle Eder and Oliver Burn 1:32:51
2.Billy Harker and Tracy
Smith 1:37:28
3.Kate Frost and Brett Frost 1:39:41
Womens Double
Ski:
1.Nicola Irvine and Hilary Jean Pitchford 1:43:59
2.Donna Winter and
Angelique Mulder 1:47:43
Further details can be found at www.surfski.co.za
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