It was an action-packed start as more than 200 paddlers set off for the 64th Berg River Canoe Marathon in Paarl on Wednesday 15 July.
Among the paddlers taking on the world renowned 240 km race were members of the local Stellenbosch/Maties Rowing Club.
The local team includes stalwarts such as Francois Loedolff, who has participated in 38 editions of the ultramarathon, Mossie Serdyn and Andries Smit. For them the challenge lies in finishing.
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Experience aplenty
Daantjie Malan, looking to complete his 15th Berg, treasures the camaraderie, while Johan van Rooyen (78) summed it up with pioneering western Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary’s famous words: “Because it’s there.” He has taken on 16 editions of the Berg.
Race manager Danie Brink, himself a Berg veteran, highlighted the immense demands on paddlers. “As a four-day race over 240 km, the Berg poses significant organisational challenges in logistics, safety and support. It requires extraordinary preparation and commitment.”
The local club held its final pre-Berg time trial at the Vredenheim Dam last Wednesday (8 July). Paddlers included Van Rooyen, Stefan Erlank, Joshua Glyn-Cuthbert, Heinrich Schloms (22), Loedolff, Smit (27), Malan (14), Mossie Serdyn (35), Conrad Kriel (4), and first-timer Joanne Conradie.
For Glyn-Cuthbert, a fourth-year electrical-engineering student, taking on the Berg again is especially special, emerging as one of South Africa’s most exciting young canoeists and a contender for this year’s Berg River Marathon title.
Battered by injury
The 22-year-old swept all four pre-Berg races, setting his sights firmly at the top of the podium.
A victory by the student would end a 16-year drought for Maties paddlers, last won by Robyn Kyme in 2010.
However, Glyn-Cuthbert’s run has been anything but smooth. “I sustained a shoulder injury at the Dusi in 2025, when I fell out in the Little John Rapid and dislocated it. A few months later I dislocated it again at the Breede River Marathon, which led to surgery in October last year.”
Thanks to working with a biokineticist he has been able to elevate his performance.
Glyn-Cuthbert, who started paddling in 2020, had his first taste of the Berg last year. Illness on Day 3 hampered his performance, but he fought back to finish 26th overall – a result that now looks like a stepping stone to far greater things.
There will be tough competition and his plans of a podium finish as 14-time winner and King of the Berg Hank McGregor returns to the race.
Fans will have see who takes the top spot in Velddrif when paddlers cross the finish line on Saturday 18 July.
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