Birkett has now proven himself as one of the Dusi greats with a total of 13 victories in K1 – individual and K2 pair disciplines.
With this win, Birkett overtakes the 12 titles of Graeme Pope-Ellis, known as the Dusi King, who dominated the grueling three-day canoe race in the 1970s and 1980s. Birkett faced a tough challenge from second-placed Mtolo and the two were neck-and-neck over the three days. Mtolo says he pushed hard on the last stage from Inanda dam to Blue Lagoon today to catch up with Birkett.
“Yeah, I can say I had a good day. I started my day on the dam feeling very strong. I knew it was not going to be easy to catch Andy, but I tried my best to close the gap, I know racing early is hard but I was trying.”