FEEDBACK: GCU MARATHONS – 22 JULY 2017
It was a glorious sunny winter day warm once the frost had melted, with very little wind, so perfect conditions for the Gauteng Marathon Championships which took place on Homestead Dam, in Benoni, at the home of ERK!
The little guppy racers kicked the day off with their races in Under 8 – Under 12 with their own course and relevant distances, and their results will be processed through the school league database and newsletters.
The U18 men through to and including Sub Masters did 22kms which was 6 laps and 5 portages, starting at 9h30, followed by the ladies 2 minutes later as well as Men older than Sub Masters who did 17km – 5 laps with 4 portages. Over 65’s do not portage of course.
The Under 16 juniors completed 14kms – 4 laps with 3 portages and the Under 14 age group raced 11 km, being 3 laps and 2 portages.
Starting with the ladies who raced 17km, 5 laps with 4 portages, Natali Coetzee (Watuni) was the only Senior lady competitor, finishing in 1:59, while Holly Spencer (Dabs) and Asanda Ndlovu (SOW) finished as the first and second Under 23 ladies, in 1:40 and 1:59 respectively.
The Veteran ladies were led by Caroline Filmalter (WAT), who had an unfortunate swim at the start, but despite her concern about losing time, she made it up and still finished first, in 1:51. Hanli Bezuidenhout (CEN) is in fact a novice – this was her first flat water race so well done on finishing 2nd in 2:01, while Jessica Booyzen (WAT) also relatively new in the sport managed 3rd place in 2:14.
Caroline van der Linde (LIK) led the Under 18 ladies race finishing in 1:48 with Sinazo Mnqokoyi (SOW) 2nd in 2:09, while Megan Oelofse (LIK) was the first Under 16 finisher in 1:22:35, followed by Alexis Rich (DABS) in 1:22:51.
In the Under 14 girls race, Jo-ane Prinsloo (Lik) was the first finisher in 1:06, with Kamilah Hank (FLO) 2nd in 1:08, and Tinyiko Mahwayi (SOW) 3rd in 1:14.
The indomitable Anna Clifford Arwidi was the Sub Master Lady finisher, (DABS) in 1:43, and Minnie Kretzschmar was the Grand master lady finisher (DABS) in 1:58 finishing 17km.
AND THE MEN
The Senior Men were led by Michael Arthur, (DABS) who with Wayne Jacobs opened up a huge gap between them and the first bunch, with Michael finishing the 22km (6 laps and 5 portages) in 1:39, followed by Siseko Ntondini, (SOW) in 1:41, Nicholas Weeks (ERK) 1:42 and Phineas Zulu (SOW) in 1:43 as the first 4 Senior Men age category finishers.
The two Under 23 finishers were Peter Chissano (JCC) and Moshe Nghomani (FLCC) in 1:53 and 1:56.
The Junior Under 18 boy finishers were Tristan Trican (FLO), Liam Stewart (ERK) and Siphiwe Makhubo (SOW) in 1:48, 1:54 and 2:26 respectively
Wayne Jacobs (DABS) who led the race with Michael Arthur finished as first Sub Veteran, in 1:39, with Elton du Preez (CEN) in 1:43 as 2nd Sub Vet.
The top 3 Veteran finishers were Dave Hamilton-Brown (DABS), in 1:43:42, Kobus Filmalter (WAT) 1;43:49, and Kelvin Byres (DABS) in 1:46:24.
The Sub Master Men led by Michael Stewart (ERK) in 1:41, with Luke Symons (DABS) in 2nd place, in 1:43, and Gustav Smook (LOW) finishing as the 3rd Submaster in 1:46.
In the Master Men’s age category racing 17km (5 laps / 4 portages) Malcolm Stothard, (DABS), Willem Landman and Andrew Cooper were the first three finishers in 1:33:04, 133:30, and 1:34.
Colin Wilson (Dabs) was the first Sub Grand Master finisher, with Hardus Theunissen (FLCC) as the 2nd SGM – their times were 1:44 and 1:58.
Graham Holm was the only Grand Master finisher at the event, (DABS) in a time of 1:40, while the Great Grand master finishers were Brian Longley in 1:32, Peter O Connor (both DABS) in 1:35 and Vincent Buttrick in 1:39 as the first 3 finishers.
Calvin Mokoto and Radoslaw Olszewski (ERK) were the C1 Men finishers just one second apart in 1:42 and 55/56 seconds, and Constant Olivier (FLO) was the only Para Canoeist racer, in 1:26.
The top Under 16 boys (14km) were Zanenhlanhla Mbala (SOW), Gustav Jnr Smook (LOW) and Wongama Makhasi (SOW) in 1:12, 1:13 and 1:16.
The Under 14 top finishers (11km) was competed by Finlay Leask, Ruan Van Pletzem and Luca Pierini (Dabs, Lik, Cen) in 0:58, 1:04:03, and 1:04:07.
Here are some of the achievers:
LADIES
4331 HOLLY SPENCER UNDER 23 17KM IN 1:40 (DABULAMANZI CANOE CLUB)
8203 ANNA CLIFFORD ARWIDI SUB MASTER (BETWEEN 45 AND 49) 1;43 (DABULAMANZI CANOE CLUB)
4080 CAROLINE VAN DER LINDE UNDER 18 – 1:48 (LIKKEWAAN KANOE KLUB PARYS)
MEN
Wayne Jacobs, a Sub Veteran kept pace with the senior paddler Michael Arthur through the entire race – here is a profile on him – for info:
A father of 3 kids aged between 6 and 1.
I am a qualified accountant and am now working in the family construction business with my father who is also a paddler.
I attended school in JHB at St. Stithians College where canoeing was not considered a school sport but got into paddling at the age of 10 through my father.
I excelled as a junior between 1995 and 1998 where I won the Marathon World Cup K1 and K2 as a junior in 1998.
I gave up serious paddling while at Stellenbosch University in favor of water polo where I represented South Africa at the 2001 World Student Games in Beijing.
After university I gave up paddling entirely for 10 years while living in London.
I returned from London in 2014 and have been enjoying getting back into paddling after a 12 year layoff.
FINISHED in 1:39:43.
Michael Arthur (senior age category) originally from Natal, now relocated to Gauteng, both are paddlers at Dabulamanzi (Emmarentia Dam)
He eventually beat Wayne crossing the finish line – 1 second before him 1:39:42.
DAY 2
Another lovely day of sunshine and calm waters, as well as good racing from the look of the smiles on the faces in the photos!!
With no senior ladies competing, it was the Sub Master lady, Anna Clifford Arwidi who was the first female finisher at the 17km 5 laps with 4 portages race, (DABS) in 1:43, with the Master ladies finishing next, Sylvia Nel, and Katarzyna Lapacz (Lik/FLO) in 1:44, a good race! Shelley Robertson and Gertruida Van Der Westhuizen (CRO/CEN) finished next in 2 hours 10 minutes as the Sub Vet ladies.
The Under 14 girls finished their 11km 3 laps and 2 portages, with Jo-ane Prinsloo and Kamilah Hank (Lik/FLO) leading in 1:02, followed by SOW crew Tinyiko Mahwayi and Thembelihle Jokozela who finished in 1:11.
The Mixed Doubles at the Gauteng K2 Championships were all Veteran crews – led by Kobus Filmalter and Caroline Filmalter (WAT) who finished in 1:44, the 2nd place finishers were Kelvin and Taflin Byres (DABS) finishing in 1:55, while Andre Zandbergh and Jessica Booyzen (WAT) finished in 2:04, with Jason Brown and Sonja Bohnsack (DABS) finishing in 2:06.
The C2 Men crew of Calvin Mokoto and Radoslaw Olszewski (ERK) finished their race in 1:36.
The men crews finished 22km, consisting of 6 laps and 5 portages with the leading men also being from mixed age groups with the fastest time of the day brought in by the Sub Veteran team of Dave Hamilton-Brown and Wayne Jacobs (DABS) in 1:36:17, while Elton du Preez and Willem Landman (CEN) were the 2nd Sub Veteran finishers.
The next fastest time at the GCU K2 Marathon Champs was clocked by Under 23 Siyabonga Tyiki and Thando Ngamlana (SOW) in 1:36:18, a very close race between the youngsters and the veterans !! Tristan Trican and Moshe Nghomani (FLO) finished as 2nd Under 23 in 1:44.
The third fastest time was from the Under 18 Sowetan team Sibusiso Chwayi and Zanenhlanhla Mbala in 1:37:46 , with 2nd place in the juniors going to Bambo Fanteni and Buhlebenkosi Phakathi (SOW) in 1:38:59 and the 3rd Junior Under 18 crew were Gustav Smook (LOW) and Liam Stewart (ERK) in 1:46.
The Senior Men, Michael-John Robb and Grant Ahlschlager (DABS) finished in 1:39:23 with Phinease Zulu and Zonele Nzuza right behind them chasing to finish in 1:39:55 (SOW).
Colin Wilson with Roy Clegg (Dabs/VIC) finished as first Veterans in 1:39, with Shaun Maphanga and Douw Kruger (FLO) in 1:51, and Wikus Loots with Colin Turner finishing in 1:55 (LOW).
In the Sub Master Men it was Michael Stewart and Gustav Smook (ERK/LOW) who led the race finishing in 1:39:36, while James Godden and Luke Symons (DABS) finished as 2nd Sub Masters in 1:39:45 followed by Andrew Hall/Barry Painting (DABS) – 1:42:46, Malcolm Stothard / Pieter Engelbrecht (DABS) – 1:42:48 and Andrew Cooper with Nicholas Warren (DABS) in 1:46:04.
The Sub Grand Master Men completed 17km – 5 laps and 4 portages of 100m, bringing in Jim Davies and Lloyde Hanson (DABS) in 1:27, while the Grand Master Men first finishers were Gary Ralph and Graham Holm (DABS) in 1;35, followed by Keith Beeston and John Rowan (JCC/ERK) in 1:48, and the Great Grand Masters Brian Longley and Peter O Connor (DABS) finished without portages in 1:28.
The Under 16 boys who did 14km (4 laps / 3 portages) were Wongama Makhasi and Benjamin Mntonintshi (SOW) finishing in 1:14, while the Under 14 boys team of Adrian Rodd and Finlay Leask (DABS) finished their 11km race with 2 portages in 0:56.
