![\"2014McGregorPortrait\"](\"http:\/\/fishmarathon.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/2014McGregorPortrait.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI am double [marathon] world champion and now two weeks later I\u2019ve won the Fish, the one race that I have wanted to win for a long time, to end off a great season for me!\u201d said the well-pleased Team Jeep\/Kayak Centre star.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a tough race for sure; I was pushed all the way to the finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately I had a bit of a buffer because I hit a bit of a bad patch at Gauging Weir and when Andrew (Birkett) caught up I just stuck to him like glue before I managed to pass him on the flat and then it was just a matter of holding him off pretty much like how Len Jenkins did to me two years ago,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
McGregor landed back in South Africa two weeks ago a tired yet satisfied man after winning gold in both the senior men\u2019s K1 and K2 events at the ICF Canoe marathon World Championships however he was adamant the illusive K1 Fish title was still very much on his radar.<\/p>\n
With his wife Pippa and son Thorsten on the river banks throughout the two days of racing, McGregor was over the moon to have achieved the feat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all came down to the Fish together and it has been a successful family trip! To see (Pippa and Thor) along the race route and here at the finish was really great!\u201d said McGregor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was also great to come in with a huge crowd here at the finish this year!\u201d he added after the race\u2019s introduction of the reverse start order which proved so popular at the Dusi Canoe Marathon earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Birkett started the day 46 seconds behind McGregor but the EuroSteel competitor again showed his unmatched tenacity and unwillingness to give up as he clawed his way back into the encounter shortly after Gauging Weir.<\/p>\n
\u201cHank extended his lead to a minute quite quickly this morning but then I just started to feel really good in the boat. I managed to catch right up to him with 30 minutes to go in the race and then we were playing games \u2013 trying to get into each other\u2019s head and try and sprint for every weir.<\/p>\n
\u201cHank has just won World Marathon Champs two weeks ago and I managed to close a minute gap on him and outsprint him at one or two of the weirs so that’s a personal achievement for me and it was an awesome race and I’m stoked to have come second!\u201d said a satisfied Birkett.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until two days before the starter\u2019s gun was set to fire that Jasper Mock\u00e9 (Mock\u00e9 Paddling) decided to take part in this year\u2019s race and yet the Cape flyer showed his pedigree once more as he claimed the final step on the podium ahead of hometown hero Greg Louw (Knysna Racing) and Team Jeep\/Varsity College\u2019s Grant van der Walt.<\/p>\n
The second half of the men\u2019s field was a fascinating affair throughout with positions chopping and changing constantly. In the end it was under-23 men\u2019s category winner Stu MacLaren who clinched sixth ahead of a well-pleased Thulani Mbanjwa (Build it), Tom Schilperoort (Holdfast) and surprise result Owen Gandar while Port Elizabeth\u2019s Richard von Wildemann finished tenth a little way back.<\/p>\n
![\"2014AdiePortrait\"](\"http:\/\/fishmarathon.org.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/2014AdiePortrait.jpg\")
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