Waimata River to be a marathon course

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Marathon kayaking comes to Gisborne’s Waimata River this weekend, and the Thompson family will feature . . . one way or another.

Husband and wife Alan and Liz Thompson played key roles in bringing the New Zealand Kayak Marathon Championships to Gisborne, and continue to drive arrangements. They are event manager and chief official respectively.

The support of a major sponsor was vital to getting Gisborne accepted as the venue. Naming the event the Eastland Port New Zealand Kayak Marathon Championships recognised that backing.

Meanwhile, hoping for success on home waters will be the Thompsons’ son-and-daughter combination of Quaid and Kim. As defending champions in the marquee men’s and women’s open K1 events, they will be the paddlers to beat.

In last year’s event, Quaid blitzed to victory by a margin of over 30 seconds. He has been in good form this season, striking gold in the K1 1000 metres and K1 five-kilometre events at the New Zealand Canoe Sprint Championships on Lake Karapiro in February.

Chief challenger will be 2018 silver medallist Andrew Mowlem (Waitemata), who last month retained his national ocean racing title in impressive style at the Vaikobi King and Queen of the Harbour in Auckland.

Sam Newlands (Bay of Plenty), last year’s bronze medallist, is also entered, as is Poverty Bay paddler Jordan McLarin, who 12 months ago triumphed in the junior K1 event.

In the women’s equivalent, Kim Thompson was an emphatic winner of the 2018 edition and she, too, will be strongly fancied to retain her title on home waters. Also entered in the senior event is 2018 junior champion Niamh Lee, who has moved to Gisborne from Hawke’s Bay so she has a squad to train with.

Poverty Bay will be hoping for more success in the men’s junior category as Sam Ferkins — recently selected to compete for New Zealand at the junior world championships in Romania in August — will look to upgrade on the silver medal he won 12 months ago.

Event manager Alan Thompson — a double gold medallist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics — said: “Marathons are a great hit-out for paddlers, even sprint paddlers because it gets them used to racing in different conditions and it builds experience.

“The course on a 6km loop (for seniors and masters) is ideal for marathon racing and will provide a genuine test.”

All races will start near the Poverty Bay Kayak Club base. The open and masters K1 competitors, male and female, will tackle a 4.75x6km circuit (totalling 28km) on the Waimata River. Junior men and women will compete over 22km (3.75x6km circuit).

Meanwhile, under-16 and u14 athletes will complete the 10km distance and tyros (u12), 6km.

Surf ski and waka ama races over 10km will also be held. The action begins at 10am tomorrow, with K2 events on Sunday from 10am.