It was a day that had potential to upset the apple cart, however the class of Andy Birkett and Christie Mackenzie shone through as they both extended their leads in the 2025 Dusi Canoe Marathon men’s and women’s races respectively.
The longer, more taxing second stage initially provided some excitement in the men’s race as second placed Sbonelo Khwela narrowed the gap on Birkett through clever decision making early on.
At Gauging Weir he had narrowed the gap to just under 20 seconds.
For Euro Steel’s Birkett it was a concern early on with Khwela right on his rudder.
“Sbonelo was chasing me down all the way,” Birkett said. “Whenever I opened up a gap, he was taking some bold lines down rapids and just before the Ngumeni portage he was right on my tail which made for exciting racing.
“I won’t lie, I was getting a bit nervous at a stage or two!”
Despite the early pressure, Birkett managed to maintain his composure to power ahead of the chasing Khwela and Matt Fenn.
It was a more measured approach to the day for Birkett who broke down the 43km day into a few pieces.
“I just thought that if I can put in first after Ngumeni then I can open up a bit of a lead because I knew that Gumtree, Hippo and Thombi were going to be big, and I had to just stay in the boat.
“Then I felt really good coming across the dam in the last hour.”
Birkett finished the day with a lead of over five minutes, however his lead isn’t over just Khwela; Matt Fenn is also in the mix having made up three places on the day.
From a women’s perspective Mackenzie might not have had everything go her own way on day two, however the Euro Steel star extended her lead despite a few challenges.
“I felt really good, but I did have a little swim just before the takeout of the first saddle,” Mackenzie said.
“The river was so full that you don’t really know where the takeout was. I was pretty sure I was in the right spot, but I lost concentration and fell out.”
Mackenzie also had to negotiate her way through some hyacinth blocks when the wind started picking up later in the morning.
“Heading onto the dam I felt really good, and the wind started picking up and it was really hard being alone.”
Despite these challenges she powered her way to a convincing stage win ahead of Nikki Birkett in second and Bridgitte Hartley in third.
For men’s runner-up Fenn, he was looking forward to today’s stage and knew that he had a good chance of making up time of the paddlers ahead of him.
“I love a long day and I just tried to pace myself today knowing that I had a lot of time to catch up,” Fenn said.
“I didn’t want to blow too early and I think I did well and have a nice one-on-one battle with Sbonelo (Khwela) tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’s going to be a paddling day and I’m really excited.”
Mackenzie’s advantage in the women’s race has ballooned to nineteen minutes over Nikki Birkett in second while Hartley is currently just under 15 minutes adrift of Birkett.
Sanele Mbanjwa still holds the advantage in the Under 23 men’s race while despite a time penalty on day one, Emma Hatfield is still leading the Under 23 women’s race after the second stage.
There was a shake up in the Under 18 men’s race with Siyabonga Ndlovu moving up two places into first while overnight leader Sbonelo Dube dropped to third. Keagan Vogt is still in second.
Hana Newlands continues her impressive form in the Under 18 Women’s category and currently sits sixth overall in the women’s race.
The third and final stage of the Dusi Canoe Marathon takes paddlers 36km from Inanda Dam to Blue Lagoon on Saturday.
For more information head to www.dusi.co.za
DUSI CANOE MARATHON RESULTS – DAY TWO
MEN
1. Andy Birkett 2:57:49 4:47:37
2. Matt Fenn 2:59:51 4:53:09
3. Sbonelo Khwela 3:02:29 4:53:10
4. Sandile Mtholo 3:09:16 5:02:03
5. Msawenkosi Mtolo 3:12:32 5:05:20
6. Siyanda Gwamanda 3:11:45 5:05:21
7. Siseko Ntondini 3:11:59 5:08:45
8. Bongani Ntinga 3:11:36 5:10:57
9. Banetse Nkhoesa 3:13:54 5:10:58
10. Alan Houston 3:11:17 5:11:00
11. Sanele Mbanjwa 3:17:36 5:14:21
12. Lindokuhle Maphumulo 3:13:04 5:16:16
13. Thabani Msia 3:16:23 5:16:17
14. Menzi Mthembu (U23) 3:16:23 5:16:18
15. Joshua Glyn-Cuthbert (U23) 3:17:08 5:19:50
16. Owen Gandar 3:18:10 5:25:07
17. Stewart Little 3:19:54 5:25:07
18. Jacques Theron 3:18:04 5:25:49
19. Raymond Radebe 3:22:19 5:25:52
20. Mpendulo Mthethwa 3:24:00 5:25:52
Women
1. Christie Mackenzie 3:30:14 5:43:43
2. Nikki Birkett 3:40:01 6:02:52
3. Bridgitte Hartley 3:53:01 6:17:23
4. Hilary Bruss 3:56:07 6:27:53
5. Emma Hatfield (U23) 3:54:33 6:28:50
6. Hana Newlands (U18) 4:11:13 6:43:27
7. Shannon Parker-Dennison (U23) 4:19:09 6:57:15
8. Holly Smith (U23) 4:17:43 6:59:40
9. Tayla Norton (U18) 4:31:04 7:14:01
10. Keira Hunter (U18) 4:55:46 7:51:08
Under 23 Men
1. Sanele Mbanjwa 3:17:36 5:14:21
2. Lindokuhle Maphumulo 3:13:04 5:16:16.89
3. Menzi Mthembu 3:16:23 5:16:18
Under 23 Women
1. Emma Hatfield 3:54:33 6:28:50
2. Hana Newlands (U18) 4:11:13 6:43:27
3. Shannon Parker-Dennison 4:19:09 6:57:15
Under 18 Men
1. Siyabonga Ndlovu 3:25:43 5:34:39
2. Keegan Vogt 3:29:10 5:37:34
3. Sbonelo Dube 3:45:39 5:54:00
Under 18 Women
1. Hana Newlands 4:11:13 6:43:27
2. Tayla Norton 4:31:04 7:14:01
3. Kiera Hunter 4:55:46 7:51:08
