Hank McGregor took part in a recent event as number four in a relay team - the anchor man. As he paddled out, the commentator said, "... Hank McGregor... look at that action on the water ladies and gentlemen, poetry in motion..."
We took some video of Hank as he started his leg of the race...
Poetry in Motion
Apart from Hank's stroke and technique, which are widely acknowledged to be superb, watch the way he starts - he does a lifesaving-style mount and has already taken two strokes before his feet are in the cockpit...
Matt Bouman is the team member who races down the beach to touch Hank on the shoulder. Hank then takes a couple of strides, becomes airborne as he throws both legs in the air and is paddling seemingly even before he's landed in the seat...
Stroke - frame by frame
Here's a complete frame by frame sequence showing the stroke from catch to exit.
cool stuff written by Christo Tromp,
July 08, 2007
About time we see the best in action. You forget to watch these guys as you are competing in a race. Tx for the great frames
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... written by MFB,
July 09, 2007
Wow, that's 107 strokes per minute! (Counted using metronome, DaCapo by Rogame for my Treo) Pretty fast, similar to the ones seen on k1 500 ICF races. : ) Even at that pace, his form is just perfect. High top arm, just for sprinting. I wonder what's his pace when doing long strokes..
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hank is an animal written by glick,
July 09, 2007
In a training session before Molokai this May, Hank was trying out his Epic all-carbon 8kg V10L for the first time. We were heading out into the wind on a relatively flat section when he turned to me and said, "let's race..." Hank has reached 21K in a ski on flat water; he won the world junior and senior world marathon titles so it clearly was not a fair fight...until he put his paddle in his lap and began paddling away with his hands. I humored him and started out paddling, only I wasn't catching him...only when my GPS read 7.0 mph did I pull even(this is me using a paddle mind you) and it took me a few more seconds and mph to pass him. Humbling but impressive.
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Content on sski.info written by GD,
July 09, 2007
Just keeps getting better boys. World class delivery. Great to see some news from Oz as well - sad it is about a talent that is a bit lost right now. Keep it coming. Great service to our sport. Cheers.
ps - has anybody got anymore of those Bartho style mad swell photo's??
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Another great video written by Keith,
July 09, 2007
Rob,
Terrific video. Keep publishing these. Great for the sport. Even the comments are good!
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... written by Ben Hines,
July 10, 2007
Rob,
You really are helping our sport develop and by continuing with this fantastic site you becoming one of the big names associated with it. An example.....
A couple of friends of mine have just got bitten by the surfski bug. During a conversation with them over the weekend the following became apparent....
You are doing a bloody fantastic job.
They talked for ten minutes about Surfski.info and Rob Mousley (despite the fact that neither of them could remember who Oscar Chalupsky or Hank McGregor were?).
Whilst filling them in on Oscar and Hank, they asked "so Rob Mousley would be a top ten finisher?".
Who am I say any different?
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Fame at last! written by Rob Mousley,
July 10, 2007
LOL...
Thanks for the kind words on the site - but those guys obviously hadn't read enough of it - we've written more than a few words on Hank & Oscar!!!
And for the record, I'm a middle of the fleet hacker - came 84th out 147 singles in Durban! Had a great time, it was one of the most fun downwind runs I've ever had!
Rob
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World class written by Jamii Hamlin,
July 10, 2007
Hank is undoubtedly one of the finest athletes we will ever see and will remain a benchmark and inspiration for many to follow.......it would be great if ski paddling were an olympic sport! We would then truly appreciate the depth and versatility these elite paddlers have from sprints to ultra distance marathons.
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Olympic sport?? written by Michael A,
July 10, 2007
Jamii Hamlin paddling is an olympic sport. Most of the guys who are winning these ski races are vyving for, or already have been to Olympic and world championships. Some people might not remember, but Oscar was the back seat paddler for SA in the 92 olympics. Clint Robinson from Australia who is a great ski paddler and competed in Molokai several times has won three oLympic medals, including the K1 1000m at Barcelona. Lat man who is a regular on various topics on this website won an Olympic Bronze in the K4 1000 also won the prestigous 20 beaches race in Australia. These are just a few names who have done both. The sport of ocean racing is great, keep up the good work Rob with your website.
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ski/olympians written by glick,
July 11, 2007
Don't forget that 5-time Molokai winner Grant Kenny is an Olympic Bronze medallist; Nathan Baggaley, who was 2nd to Oscar at Molokai in 2005, won 2 Silvers in Athens, Greg Barton, the 2-time US Surf Ski Champ and perennial top 10 Molokai finisher, won 2 Gold and 2 Bronze medals in four Olympics, and the list goes on....
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Great Vid written by Trinpad,
July 11, 2007
Keep up the great work Rob. I have learnt so much from this site. Oh to be able to beach start like that. My current efforts result in material that would make the 'funniest video' top 10!
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... written by auspaddler,
July 13, 2007
I'm sure Hank McGregor is a terrific athlete and is setting high standards in this sport for others to follow and improve on and I definitely don't want take away the fact that he is one of the best in this sport, but from a kayaker's view, I'm not quite sure how that technique is poetry in motion, that is nothing but a ocean ski paddler, with a little bit of background from flatwater sprints of what needs to be done with a blade. If you would like to see world class "poetry in motion", please watch something from the K2 500 world champions from Germany, or any Hungarian K1, K2 or K4 paddler from 2006. If any European paddlers were to see people saying that's poetry in motion, they would LOL. As for this sport being in the Olympics, where would the spectators go to watch, only reason why flatwater marathon is being held out.
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Hey auspaddler written by TomBJ,
July 13, 2007
I'm sure the point of the video was to show the launching-on-to-the-ski skills of Hank, not necessarily a frame by frame breakdown of his paddling technique. No K1 paddler would have any chance of winning the World K1 Marathon Championship title (as Hank did in 2003) if they didn't have perfect form. We all know from experience that your technique MUST change when paddling down rapids on a river or through the surf. Over these short distances, a paddler understands they can sacrifice form - and instead rely on brute strength - in order to keep stability during this crucial time. It's only for short periods that they do this, that is until they are able to settle into a more efficinent technique. If you were to watch a flatwater speedster like Murray Stewart (future Olympic Ozzie contender) going through the surf you'd see similar adjustments being made by him. Sitting on a pond with the maximum 'swell' being about 10 cm high is no comparison to make. Flatwater sprint paddling is all about milliseconds and fractions of an inch, and this is where perfect technique makes all the difference between winning and 5th place. But when you are breaking through 6 foot surf into a downwind ocean swell, stability becomes more important than theoretical perfection. Let's focus more on the lessons in lauching skills that Hank can teach us instead of getting all snotty about elbow extension and paddle height.
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Whoa! TomBJ there is nothing snotty.... written by Keith,
July 13, 2007
TomBJ, I think it will be great when we get more videos and frames about breaking through 6-foot surf. In the mean time, any video illustrating good paddling technique is welcome and worthwhile.
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And, Auspaddler written by Keith,
July 13, 2007
Poetry in surf ski paddling and olympic paddling has to be like ballet--it is in the eye of the beholder.
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