East Rand paddlers excel at Gauteng canoe championships | Germiston City News

Gauteng Canoe Union recently hosted the Gauteng Sprint Championships at Roodeplaat Dam.

The championships played a crucial role in selecting a provincial team to compete at the recent SA Sprint Championships 2026, which took place on March 27 to 29 March at the same venue.

Gauteng’s top canoeists braved grey, overcast skies and wet weather to participate at the championship. While the weather may have been damp, spirits were eager, with paddlers embracing the challenging conditions in what proved to be an exciting day of competition.

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Paddlers from the Victoria Lake Canoe Club proudly represented the club and delivered standout performances.

The event drew a strong field of male and female paddlers from canoe clubs across Gauteng, competing in a range of distances including 200m, 500m, 1000m and the gruelling 5000m long-distance sprint.

The regatta featured a mix of seasoned competitors and newcomers experiencing their first taste of sprint racing.

Among the notable figures on the water was Esti Van Tonder, an Olympian and coach at the Academy of Canoe Development.

Van Tonder continues to play a pivotal role in nurturing sprint talent, using events like these as key preparation platforms for national competition.

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Helen Jansen van Vuuren delivered an impressive showing in the U23 category, claiming first place in the 1000m event.

She followed this up with second-place finishes in the 500m, 200m and the demanding 5000m race, demonstrating both speed and endurance across distances.

Equally dominant was Richard Cele, who competed in the 35–39 age category. Cele secured first place in all four of his events, the 200m, 500m, 1000m and 5000m , underlining his consistency and strength across both sprint and endurance disciplines.

With strong performances from local athletes and a successful championship completed, Gauteng’s paddlers now shift focus to the national stage, where they will look to build on this momentum and compete against the country’s best.