Andy Birkett won a neck-and-neck battle in an exhilarating sprint to the finish with Jasper Mocke and Ivan Kruger to take the stage win on day one of the Green Kalahari Canoe Marathon from Upington to Oranje Rus in Kanoneiland. As expected, the extremely competitive men’s field paddled at a furious pace to finish in just over two hours ten minutes on the 37km route. Michele Eray took the stage win in the women’s category on day one showing her superb form.

After the inaugural race, entries have almost doubled and just over seventy paddlers took to the iconic river in near perfect conditions. With temperatures of 35?C out on the water and good water levels, paddlers were all in agreement that this is a very unique race.

Andy Birkett was amazed by the river on his first outing. “I did not have time to go tripping the river, so everything is unexpected. The Orange is definitely different from any other river I’ve paddled in the country. It is quite a novel experience and you get a great mix of wide flat waters with surprisingly big rapids and people are being so accommodating and keen to offer advice,” explained Birkett.

With only seconds separating the top three, Birkett is hoping that their lapsed time start will give them the competitive edge. “It will be essential for us to stick together and keep ahead of the pack to push ourselves for the 46km stage,” mentioned Birkett.

The next stage starts at Ikhaya in Keimoes at 07h00 on Friday and will finish at Die Mas in Kakamas.

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