DURBAN – The 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships, which wrapped up in Durban at the weekend, is being hailed as a sporting success for the national team, while also providing a positive economic contribution to Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.
On the water, the South African team was a dominant force, winning five out of the nine championship races over the two days.
On Saturday the team produced a clean-sweep of victories in the mixed doubles races, with Matthew Fenn and Saskia Hockly winning overall, while Ryley Smith and Ellen Strydom took the junior title and Holly Smith and Heath Clarke were the top U23s. The Jenna Nisbet and Hamish Lovemore crew and the Madison Fourie and Matthew Coetzer combination also won bronze medals in the senior and junior races respectively.
On Sunday, South Africa had less success, but Kira Bester was crowned the women’s World Champion, and Sam Mocke successfully defended his junior title. Silver and bronze medals went to Georgia Singe and Jade Wilson in the women’s U23 race, Matt Coetzer grabbed silver in the men’s U23, and Strydom picked up her second medal of the weekend when she finished runner-up in the women’s junior race.
However, success was not only achieved by the athletes on the water, with the event also being hailed as an economic success with a positive impact for Durban and KwaZulu-Natal.
“We were blessed to have such good results from our team members, who left the championships with more than half the gold medals on offer,” said Colin Wilson, CEO of Euro Steel, one of the event’s major sponsors.”
“However, that is only part of the success story of these World Championships. More important than the sporting success is the fact that we showcased the region to competitors and their supporters, and thousands who watched the coverage of the event all over the world via the International Canoe Federation live stream. We had more than 500 competitors from over 30 different countries taking part, and they were able to see a small slice of South Africa, by visiting KwaZulu-Natal and Durban.”
“Many of the overseas competitors at the World Championships arrived early and raced in the Pirates-Umhlanga-Pirates race the week before, and a lot of them are going to East London this weekend for the two-day Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race. That means the visitors are being exposed to a wider region than just KwaZulu-Natal.”
“An event of this nature is so good for the region. It not only brings 500 people to compete, but there are also event administrators and team officials, as well as family and friends who come to support the athletes. All of this provides an economic benefit to the region via tourism and job creation.”
“For me personally, this event was particularly pleasing, because Euro Steel is a proudly South African company. We have always prided ourselves on passionately supporting and sponsoring local sportsmen and women to succeed at a local and international level, and have always supported South African events.”