Lovemore and schoolboy Vogt lead the way

GUALEGUAYCH (Argentina) – As has become the norm at World Championships lately, South Africa’s focus will fall squarely on Hamish Lovemore this week as he aims for a full house of medals at the 2026 Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gualeguaychú, Argentina.

The event starts with the opening ceremony on Wednesday with some support events, before the Championships proper begin on Thursday. South Africa’s great hope, once again, is Lovemore, who has a full schedule, including an intriguing doubles partnership that could signal the future in his final race on Sunday.

The action for South Africans starts with the short-course races on Thursday, and Lovemore will once again lock horns with his nemesis, Mads Pedersen, from Denmark, and the super-quick sprinter Fernando Pimenta from Portugal. The smart money is on these three claiming the medals, although the field is packed with talent, including fellow South African Uli Hart.

Lovemore is also entered in the long-course K1 event on Saturday. With Pimenta not entered in this race, expect the Lovemore vs Pedersen clash to dominate once again.

There is huge interest in the K2 race on Sunday, where Lovemore teams up with schoolboy Keegan Vogt. An illness for his intended partner at the South African Marathon Champs meant a last-minute shuffle for Lovemore, and the young Maritzburg College schoolboy stepped into the boat to win that event. The pair then followed up that victory with a second at the SA K2 River Championship on the Liebenbergsvlei last month, giving the schoolboy his second senior national title of the year. The next step for the pair is the World Championships.

Vogt will also be competing in the junior short-course and long-course K1 events in Argentina and is tipped to win medals in both. Last year, he collected silver and bronze in the K1 and K2 long-course races and will be keen to turn the tables on Ireland’s Sean Butterly in the two singles races this year.

The women’s U23 races have often seen South Africans on the podium or close to it, and this year could yield more medals, with former Junior World Champion Georgia Singe racing in the long course and in the senior K2 with last year’s U23 medalist Jade Wilson.

An interesting side note ont the team is the three sets of siblings in the SA team. Bella and Cody Stallard; Georgia and Jake Singe; and Sydney and Matthew Williams.

The flip side of the young, strong South African team is the absence of both Hank McGregor and Andy Birkett. Between them, the two marathon legends have claimed over 20 medals at the Canoe Marathon World Championships, including Birkett’s silver 12 months ago. The fact that both are not participating marks what looks like the end of an era for South African canoeing – although the Lovemore and Vogt era could just be kicking into gear.

Meanwhile, the Masters portion of the World Championships concluded on Tuesday, with some impressive performances from South Africa’s older age-group paddlers, who secured four gold medals in the individual events and one in the K2 event with a mixed-nationality South African / American crew.

Graham Monteith and Colin Simpkins started the Championships in perfect fashion, with a South African one-two in the K1 Men’s 65-69 age-group race. Thereafter, Allison Hay claimed gold in the K1 Women’s 65-69, while Clint Cook and Bridgitte Hartley added two more gold medals, in the K1 Men’s 35-39 and K1 Women’s 40-44 events, respectively.

The only gold for South Africa in the doubles went to Theo Smit, who combined with American Karoly Magda in the K2 Men’s 70-74. South Africa won a total of 14 medals in the Masters events, including three silver medals for Simpkins, who teamed up with Monteith and Hay to complete a full house of podium finishes across the K1, K2 and mixed categories.