Szeged (Hungary) – A small team of South Africa’s top sprint canoeists will be taking on the world’s best this weekend in Szeged in Hungary in the first international event of the Olympic cycle that ends in Los Angeles in July 2028.
Paris 2024 Olympians Hamish Lovemore and Esti Olivier will be joined by Henry van der Walt at the World Cup Sprint event, and the trio will face a tough weekend of competition alongside almost 550 athletes from 44 countries in the three-day regatta that starts on Friday.
The event heralds a few firsts for sprint canoeing: Not only is Szeged 25 the opening leg of the World Cup series for this year, but it is also the first regatta in an Olympic Cycle that culminates in LA 2028. The three-days of competition are also the first races to count toward the International Canoe Federation’s newly launched World Ranking System, which will be used to determine Olympic qualification in Los Angeles.
With the large entry list littered with Olympic medalists, the South Africas will have to be on top form to feature in the finals.
The best chance of a podium looks likely to rest on the broad shoulders of Hamish Lovemore in Sunday’s 5 000m event, where the six-lap, marathon-type format with five portages will suit the 2023 U23 Marathon World Champion.
Last year, in the same event at the same venue, Lovemore was fourth, and later in the year followed that up at the World Marathon Championships with a silver medal in the short course race shortly after his heroics at the Paris Olympics. Clearly the 25-year-old is making a name for himself on the international stage, and this weekend could be another paddlestroke toward his transition to becoming a competitive sprint canoeist.
Lovemore is also entered in the 1 000m with the heats for that on Friday.
Esti Olivier has plenty of experience to call on, and Szeged 25 will see her start a journey she is hoping will culminate in qualifying for her third Olympics. After qualifying but not competing in Tokyo, and then putting that disappointment behind her to race in Paris, Olivier has been to countless international regattas and will compete over 500m and 200m. She will open her racing with heats for both on Friday.
Van der Walt deservedly earned his place in the squad by winning the recent 200m final at the South African Championships, and while he may not have the international pedigree of his teammates, he is super quick over the shorter distances.
Van der Walt faces a full programme of events, racing in the 200m and 1 000m heats on Friday, and then the 500m heats on Saturday.
The Szeged ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup will be live streamed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel from 8am (SA time) on Friday, and 9am on Saturday and Sunday.
