Whanganui paddler Liam Lace successfully battled the stormy weather and the gruelling 26km distance to claim a thrilling victory at the 2021 New Zealand Kayak Marathon Championships in Tauranga earlier this month.
The 21-year-old rose to the challenge to outsprint Sam Newland (Bay of Plenty) and claim a narrow two-secondvictory on the Wairoa River in a time of 2h 03m 49s.
Ben McCallum (Waitara) completed the podium in bronze, recording 2:04:57.
Fourth was K1 novice and national surf ski champion Tupuria King. The 27-year-old all-around paddler dropped off the pace, but he impressed battling on to take fourth (2:06:47) in his first serious K1 competitive outing.
"I didn't have too many expectations going in, it was just a case of going out there and having fun," Lace said.
"It was pretty tough out there because of the wind, there was a lot of flow and debris on the course – a lot of weed kept getting caught on the rudder.
"I was in a tough group of paddlers with Sam, Ben and Tupu. At the first portage, I took a bit of a gamble and backpedalled to get rid of some weed – and I think this helped me conserve a bit of energy.
"At the end, I managed to pip Sam by a nose. It was awesome for it to come down to a nose-length after 26km of paddling.
