Two paddlers at the opposite ends of their paddling journeys took the honours at the finish of the Berg River Canoe Marathon in Velddrif on Saturday with Hank McGregor and Neriyah Dill wrapping up the 2026 titles.
John Hishin /Cape Town Sports Photography
11-time World Champion Hank McGregor (Team Euro Steel) cruised home to his 15th Berg victory in the men’s race, while 20-year-old Neriyah Dill (Salt) had to dig deep on the last day from Zoutkloof to Velddrif to become a dominant winner of the women’s race.
McGregor, at 48-years-old, was never seriously threatened once he took control on Day 2 and ended up winning comfortably by almost 13 minutes.
Dill, competing in just her third Berg, had to overcome illness on the 56km final day, but despite reaching Velddrif second, a few minutes behind Christy Shrimpton, she was a clear champion, finishing the four days with a total time more than an hour better than her nearest rival.
The men’s race suffered a dramatic start on Day 4 when third-placed Tom Lovemore (Salt) and fifth-placed Anders Hart withdrew before the start due to illness. That meant the top five positions were shuffled before the start, but virtually settled with the podium places going to three KZN paddlers, McGregor, Jeremy Maher and Msawenkosi Mtolo (Plastic & Chemical Trading), while Western Cape’s Heinrich Schloms finished fourth.
Maties student Joshua Glyn-Cuthbert, who was lying second until he cruelly suffered a broken paddle on Day 3, finished Day 4 third within the leading group, and was rewarded for his efforts with a top-five finish overall – a poor consolation prize for a competitor who deserved so much more as the only paddler who really put McGregor under any pressure.
McGregor was content to simply be part of the big front group on Day 4. The top three overall, with Glyn-Cuthbert and Paul Marais, reached Oordraplek at Kliphoek, about 10km from the finish, together. Marais and Mtolo drifted off the leaders leaving the other three to fight for stage honours.
In the final sprint it was no surprise the wily McGregor beat Maher and Glyn-Cuthbert for the veteran to claim a clean-sweep of stage wins in the four-day race. The 48-year-old McGregor’s win further adds to his legendary status in the gruelling four-day race and also adds a year to his record as the oldest finisher.
The women’s stage was no repeat of Days 1 to 3 with an ill Dill starting and doing all she could to hang on to 2023 winner Christy Shrimpton. The weakened champion apparent could however not stay with her nearest rival and had to settle for second on the stage.
Despite failing in her quest to match McGregor’s four wins on four stages, Dill was a comfortable overall winner and her biggest regret will probably be that she was in no condition at the finish to celebrate her win with as much enthusiasm as she would have liked.
McGregor, the undisputed King of the Berg, is in all likelihood moving toward the end of his glittering paddling career, while Dill, who won her third attempt after finishing second and third in 2024 and 2025, is very much starting out on an upward trajectory and can at best be described as the Paddling Princess.
SELECTED RESULTS
Men
(under position, name, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Overall)
1 Hank McGregor (4:42:35, 3:36:18, 5:45:59, 4:31:00) 18:35:54
2 Jeremy Maher (4:52:12, 3:39:10, 5:46:01, 4:31:03) 18:48:27
3 Msawenkosi Mtolo (4:45:27, 3:51:52, 5:53:20, 4:31:29) 19:02:09
4 Heinrich Schloms (4:52:53, 3:44:27, 5:56:33, 4:36:07) 19:10:02
5 Joshua Glyn-Cuthbert (4:42:36, 3:38:51, 6:21:04, 4:31:05) 19:13:38
6 Paul Marais (4:55:57, 3:50:51, 5:56:33, 4:36:12) 19:19:34
7 Daniel Buys (5:02:48, 3:52:07, 5:59:33, 4:32:08) 19:26:37
8 Zamokuhle Meyiwa (4:54:03, 3:54:56, 5:58:31, 4:43:28) 19:30:58
9 Sibusiso Zulu (5:02:01, 3:50:08, 5:56:34, 4:43:31) 19:32:16
10 Stefaans Erlank (5:02:02, 3:50:07, 6:10:23, 4:43:28) 19:46:01
Women
1 Neriyah Dill (5.23.33, 4:05:07, 6:25:03, 5:19:47) 21:13:31
2 Christy Shrimpton (5.35.36, 4:27:18, 6:59:08, 5:14:57) 22:17:00
3 Natasha Bradford (5.46.03, 4:34:10, 7:05:18, 5:31:51) 22:57:24
