The Fish River Canoe Marathon is a two-day event taking place on the Fish River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It covers a total distance of, from Grassridge Dam southward to Cradock. The two other notable South African canoe marathons are the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the Berg River Canoe Marathon.[1] The Fish River marathon first took place in 1982 with 77 competitors. It was the brainchild of Cape paddler Dave Alexander and a local Department of Water Affairs engineer, Knut Olav "KO" Bang.[2] By 2000 competitor numbers had grown to a record 1564, placing the race among the world's five biggest canoe marathons.[3]
The K-3, developed in South Africa, is a recent addition to the sprint kayak class which previously consisted of the K1, K2 and K4. The K3 is particularly well suited to the Fish River with a relatively rock-free river bed and easily negotiable weirs. Demonstrating this in 2009, Matt Bouman, Herman Chalupsky and Andrew Birkett paddled their K3 to a 5h 9m finish, coming in just outside the top 10 overall.[4]
The 2011 overall winners were Hank McGregor/Grant van der Walt with a time of 4:40.38 for the 2-day event.[5]
| Year | Class | Winner | Time | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | K2 | McGregor/ Van Der Walt | 4:40:38 | |
| 2010 | K2 | McGregor/ Van Der Walt | 4:43:26 | |
| 2009 | K1S | Len Jenkins | 4:51:16 | |
| 2008 | K2 | Lucas Mthalane | 5:55:59 | |
| 2007 | K1 | Len Jenkins | 4:57:39 | |
| 2006 | K1 | Scott Johnson | 5:43:15 | |
| 2005 | K1 | Len Jenkins | 4:59:27 | |
| 2004 | K1 | Maynard Scott | 5:27:34 | |
| 2003 | K1 | Len Jenkins | 5:04:31 | |
| 2002 | K2 | Willis Russell | 5:17:28 | |
| 2001 | K1 | Len Jenkins | 5:00:22 | |
| 2000 | K1 | Eben Mocke | 5:47:03 | |