Bester and Hill take the titles

DURBAN — Youth and experience triumphed at the singles races of the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Durban on Sunday, with Australian Cory Hill taking his fourth men’s title and Kira Bester repeating her win from 12 months ago in the 34km race from the Durban Undersea Club to Westbrook.

23-year-old Bester from Cape Town pointed to her cap and the sky as she crossed the line in an emotional tribute to her coach and mentor Pete Cole, who tragically passed away earlier this year.

Her win was the catalyst for South African celebrations, but South Africa’s expected dominance of their home event never materialised, and the overwhelming sentiment after the race was how universal the sport has become, with five different countries represented in the men’s top five, and three nations represented on the women’s podium.

Hill beat Frenchman Pierre Vilella by less than a minute, with Bernardo Pereira from Portugal taking third, to put two Europeans on the podium. Former World Champions Nic Notten from South African and German Gordan Harbrecht completed the top five.

A cautious finish through the shore-break reduced Bester’s lead, so she ended just 23 seconds ahead of a tenacious Danielle Richards from New Zealand in the women’s race. Great Britain’s Rosie Edwards just edged out Georgia Singe for both the final place on the overall podium and the U23 title, while Frenchwoman Judit Verges rounded out the top five.

In the women’s race, Bester and Richards led from the start and took the field past the first turning buoy 500m off the beach, before Bester turned north early and quickly began to pick up runs which gave her a crucial lead. Richards opted for a slightly deeper line in an attempt to make use of bigger waves being created by the south westerly wind.

However, when the two lines converged off the lighthouse at Umhlanga for the compulsory turning buoy, Bester was slightly ahead and she held off the 2019 champion until the finish.

As she crossed the line, Bester paid tribute to her mentor Cole, who was recognised as one of the country’s leading coaches and is responsible for the success of many of the Western Cape’s young paddlers.

“Peter was my coach, but he was more than just a coach to his training squad,” said Bester. “The squad was like a family and he built that family, so yeah, he was like a father to us. He was definitely my mentor and he will always be for the rest of my life. His ethos is in every single one of his athletes.”

The men’s race was more a case of the old head beating off the young challengers, with 36-year-old Cory Hill producing a master class in tactical paddling. He timed his race to perfection as he came through the field on the second half of the course to add a fourth World Championship title to those he won in 2015, 2017 and 2023.

Vilella was the early pace setter, but was never really able to dominate as he fended off various challengers until Hill moved ahead. However, the Australian was never sure if he was leading or not as the top men began passing the women’s field, which had started earlier.

“I felt good and I wasn’t missing runs out there, so I was assuming I was in it at least,” said Hill on the beach after finishing. “Unfortunately, when we come through the girls like that, you never really know (who is ahead) … but I felt really good out there.”

“At the halfway mark, when we all come together I knew I was in this. From there, all you can do is race your hardest and just look in front of you.”

The rise of European ocean racing was clearly demonstrated in the age group results, where South African Sam Mocke, defending his junior men’s title, is the only other victory for the traditional powerhouses. He shared the podium with Gwendal Stephan from France and Spain’s Julian St Mary Palmero.

The junior women’s race was won by Spaniard Andrea Jimenez, with Ellen Strydom (South Africa) and Constança Frazão (Portugal) following her home.

The U23 titles were shared by Great Britain and Portugal with Edwards and Pereira claiming the women’s and men’s victories respectively. The men’s U23 was a mix of nations with Marin Lanee from France and Spain’s Pablo St Mary Palmero joining Pereira on the podium, ahead of Dylan Askew (Australia) and Tanguy Cattelle (France). Edwards led home a South African quartet of Singe, Jade Wilson, Saskia Hockly and Holly Smith.

Traditional World Championship leaders, South Africa and Australia, will be disappointed this year to only have two and one world champions respectively, but the ICF will be pleased to see France, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain breaking the southern hemisphere stranglehold in what has surely been the most representative Ocean Racing World Championships ever.

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