VELDDRIF – Both Jenna Nisbet and Hank McGregor emerged unscathed from the long third stage of the 2025 Berg River Canoe Marathon on Friday, and with big leads going into the final day it will take something dramatic for them not to claim their respective victories on Saturday.
47-year-old McGregor edged out his fellow “old man of the river”, 53-year-old Robbie Herreveld, for the stage win at the end of the long 75km Day 3 from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof. The pair are now top of the standings going into the final stage on Saturday, with McGregor ten minutes ahead and all but assured of his 14th win in the famous four-day race.
Fifth-placed defending champion, Tom Lovemore, withdrew before the start on Friday, and then Sam Butcher, second overnight, pulled out midway through the stage. Those withdrawals mean Siseko Ntondini’s chase for a podium place is suddenly much easier and he holds a 10-minute advantage over Anders Hart in fourth, with Paul Marais rounding out the top five.
In the women’s race, Nix Birkett made a brave attack in an attempt to wrestle the 2025 title away from Nisbet. However, once she was dropped from the group of men she latched onto early in the day, she slipped back into the same bunch as Nisbet and third-placed Neriyah Dill, and the top three all finished together at Zoutkloof.
That means Nisbet just needs to keep Birkett in sight to add a third title to those she won in 2013 and 2022. Birkett cannot afford to be too complacent in second, as Dill is just over four minutes further back, but it is likely the top three positions are settled.
The 57km final stage from Zoutkloof to Velddrif is traditionally a day for large groups and does not offer much hope for the chasers to make up the big gaps to the leaders. Oordraplek provides a short portage late in the race that can lead to a group splitting up, but it seems unlikely Herreveld and Birkett will be able to chase down McGregor and Nisbet respectively.
LEADING RESULTS
(under overall position, name, overall time (day 1, day 2, day 3)
Men
1 Hank McGregor 11:37:43 (4:14:44, 2:04:14, 5:18:44)
2 Robert Herreveld 11:47:16 (4:20:25, 2:08:05, 5:18:45)
3 Siseko Ntondini 11:48:58 (4:20:27, 2:08:35, 5:19:55)
4 Anders Hart 11:59:32 (4:22:13, 2:12:54, 5:24:25)
5 Paul Marais 12:00:20 (4:25:09, 2:10:45, 5:24:24)
6 Dyllan Farrell 12:02:14 (4:29:42, 2:08:06, 5:24:25)
7 Heinrich Schloms 12:07:07 (4:27:48, 2:10:42, 5:28:36)
8 Msawenkosi Mtolo 12:20:50 (4:32:37, 2:19:35, 5:28:37)
9 Thabani Msia 12:23:01 (4:36:57, 2:17:55, 5:28:09)
10 Daniel Buys 12:28:24 (4:41:54, 2:15:29, 5:31:01
Women
1 Jenna Nisbet 12:44:08 (4:40:02, 2:17:24, 5:46:40)
2 Nix Birkett 12:51:56 (4:39:54, 2:25:23, 5:46:37)
3 Neriyah Dill 12:56:07 (4:46:15, 2:23:12, 5:46:40)
4 Bianca Beavitt 13:42:19 (5:01:36, 2:29:38, 6:11:05)
5 Stephanie von der Heyde 13:52:35 (4:49:31, 2:52:37, 6:10:26)
