Border Canoe Club’s 2018 World Marathon champion and winner of every major SA river race Andy Birkett will represent the country in the canoe marathon discipline at the Alabama World Games from July 7-17.
The World Games take place every four years after the Summer Olympics and are organised by the Olympic Committee.
The canoe marathon will make its debut in Birmingham, Alabama, and will consist of a short course and regular marathon men’s and women’s kayak race.
Athletes will compete over both distances during the two-day competition, with the short-course events held first.
Quotas for The World Games marathon competition were allocated at the 2021 ICF world championships, based on the results in the senior men’s and women’s K1 races.
With only two SA spots up for grabs in the men’s and women’s categories, the SA Canoe Federation conducted trials in May, in Cape Town, to determine the best athletes.
Birkett finished first in the long course and second in the short course trials.
Known as the Dusi Maestro because of having won the toughest canoe marathon race in SA 11 times, the 31-year-old East London-born Birkett said he was proud of his selection.
“I am really excited to be part of the SA team to represent the country.
“This is the first year that the canoe marathon will be included in the World Games.
“I last competed internationally in 2019 in China,” Birkett said.
“The World Games will be a nice exposure to race against the world’s best, they will provide me a great opportunity to prepare for the upcoming World Canoe Marathon.
“It is always great to race internationally.
“Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have not had the chance to race against the best.
“I am really grateful and I think it is going to be an awesome experience for me,” he said.
Birkett will be joined at the World Games by 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Bridgitte Hartley, who also qualified from the K1 trials.
All of 40 canoeists will compete in Alabama, including three-time world champion, Hungarian Vanda Kiszli, who will head the women’s K1 list and two-time world champion Mads Pedersen, the standout in the men’s field.
Ireland women’s K1 will field 2017 bronze medallist Jenny Egan, and reigning world U23 marathon champion Cathrine Rask, will carry Denmark’s hopes.
Hungary’s Balint Noe, who inflicted a rare defeat on reigning world champion Pedersen over 5,000m at the 2021 ICF canoe sprint world championships in Copenhagen, 2019 marathon world championship bronze medallist Franco Balboa, of Argentina, and 2019 runner-up Jose Ramalho (Portugal) are all competing.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.