In blistering hot conditions the Gold Coast’s Jeremy Cotter and South African world champion Hank McGregor have joined forces to grab an unlikely victory in 25km Finn Kayaks Coastal Challenge teams relay from Fremantle to Sorrento Beach in Perth on Sunday.
The event, staged in temperatures approaching 45 degrees, witnessed competitors of all shapes and sizes, from the elite, like Olympic kayaking gold medallist Kenny Wallace, to social once a week paddlers, sharing the picturesque journey along the coast, transitioning from the first to the second paddler at City beach.
Cotter had intended to partner race organiser and former world number one Dean Gardiner in the event but made a last minute switch to paddle with McGregor at Gardiner’s suggestion.
The victory was also a redemption of sorts for Cotter who lost yesterday’s 20km individual race, ‘The Doctor’, from Fremantle to Rottnest Island, by just 15 seconds to another South African, Dawid Mocke.
The first half of today’s event from Fremantle to City beach witnessed McGregor build up a lead of just a few seconds over Jasper Mocke and 2012 Olympic kayak hopeful Murray Stewart but when Cotter hit the water he made the decision to allow his rivals Dawid Mocke, partnering his brother, and Tim Jacobs, pairing with Stewart, to catch him.
“Hank paddled really well and gave me a lead but it was too hot and tough to try and paddle for the win out in front on my own so I waited behind the break for those guys to catch up,” Cotter explained.
“I knew it would be easier if the three of us shared the work for a while.”
Cotter, Jacobs and Mocke paddled together for the best part of six kilometres before the two Australians put on a burst of power off Scarborough beach that left Mocke in their wake. Cotter displayed the same
burst of speed with two kilometres to paddle and beat home Jacobs by 100m, with Mocke further back in third.
After the event Cotter said Gardiner’s decision not to team with him had paid dividends while taking away a sense of satisfaction from his ability to turn the tables on Mocke after Saturday’s race.
“The conditions were really flat today and Dean is much better in the windier conditions and he said he thought I should paddle with Hank because he didn’t want to let me down,” Cotter said.
“It worked out well and I think I proved I have it over Dawid and the others in pure flatwater speed.
“To have a straight out race with him and Tim (Jacobs) again and show that I am more than competitive made me feel like yesterday I was just off my game.”
