Nearly 40 paddlers braved the elements and battled it out at Saturday’s most highly anticipated kayak race, the Kayak Krazy 10km series race at Whanganui.
All competitors, no doubt inspired by local boy Max Brown’s exploits in Tokyo, tackled the challenge on an unusually windy chilly day (by Whanganui standards), supported by a hardy boat safety crew, a myriad of supporters and a fantastic bunch of volunteers.
However it was another Brown, Hawkes Bay’s Daniel Brown who took line honours over Aaron Cox (Whanganui) and Damien Da Silva (Hawkes Bay) in the men’s division. Whanganui’s Jack Clifton was right in the mix until he hit a log effectively finishing what was shaping to be a great battle at the front of the field.
Ella Kingi took a narrow win ahead of fellow Wellingtonian Bailee Stratton and U18 paddler Kate Skeels (Hawkes Bay) rounded out the podium in the women’s field.
Most impressive was the three paddlers in the 12&under division, who paddled awesomely while proud parents watched their progress – they should all be very proud of that effort.
Windy conditions meant an altered course of a smooth water lap format with a tail wind sprint across the river to the finishing buoys. Long course completed four laps, with two laps for the short course and 1 lap for the 12 & under category.
It was fantastic to see the turnout from around the lower North Island given the conditions and awesome to have competitors across all age and gender categories. The Whanganui Club thanks all the paddlers, supporters and volunteers for a great effort on what was genuinely a winters day.
The next race in the Kayak Krazy 10km series is this coming Sunday 15th August at Waitemata Canoe Club. More info…
Full results:
Photo credit : Sharlene Winiata – Welly Paddlers
