The engines that power the famous faces

I think Uli Schmidt and Craig Jamieson were the first; Deon Lotter is probably another. They were well known personalities who decided to spread their sporting wings and compete in the Powerade Dusi Canoe marathon. They completed the race, on more than one occasion.

Then three years ago, Naas Botha and I entered the race and completed it, not without some spectacular swims. Since then a number of so-called celebrities have entered and completed the Dusi. Most, but not all, have been from sporting backgrounds.

From rugby, John Allen, Deon Lotter, Cabous van der Westhuizen and Robbie du Preez. From soccer, Doctor Khumalo and Clive Barker. Last year a Dusi Valley chief, Nkosi Mlada also completed the race. This year there is an even bigger entry from the celebrity category. Cabous van der Westhuizen is back, as are Schmidt and Allen.

Comrades star Alan Robb is attempting his first and is, rumour has it, apparently racing against me. Radio and television personalities Jonathan Cramp and Arnold Geerdts are competing and the most interesting of all, former Miss South Africa Peggy-Sue Khumalo. Hats off to her for her spirit of adventure and her courage. Her participation will be the biggest story of the three-day event. Possibly even bigger than the race itself.

When I spoke to Peggy-Sue two days ago, she was on her way to Pietermaritzburg to practice, and to do some publicity photographs, shooting some of the big rapids she will encounter on day one of the race.

Though she had never sat in a canoe prior to the photo session, and indeed was not even certain whether she was going to be rowing or paddling, she appeared very confident and very excited about her adventure.

The reason she was projecting such confidence was her complete trust and faith in her doubles partner, Oscar Chalupsky. Oscar, a well known sporting personality in his own right, is one of South Africa's greatest ever paddlers with a fine Dusi record, and wins in major paddling events from all over the globe. Incidently, it was Oscar Chalupsky who sat in the front of the canoe that saw Khumalo, Barker and Botha earn their Dusi finishers' medals. If you know precious little about canoeing and even less about the Dusi, but are determined to race it, you couldn't do better than have Oscar Chalupsky in front of the canoe to guide you through.

This is the secret of most of the celebrity Dusi successes in the last few years. Most of them have had leading paddlers as partners. Most acknowledge that they would not have completed the Dusi without the star in front.

In my own case, I would have no Dusi medals if it were not for the brilliance of Neil Evans, my first partner and Alec Rennie, my partner for the last two. This year my skipper is 13-time finisher Gary Boast.

Without the skills of the experts in front most of the celebrities would have no chance of completing even the first half of Day One of the Dusi. Rapids like Ernie Pearce Weir, Mission, Side Shute, Hippo, Umzinyati and Island are monstrous, frightening and technically tricky. We would all be half-drowned rats with fragments of broken boats were it not for the experts.

The Dusi is an unusual event in that there is an inordinate amount of portage. Some portaging stretches being several kilometers in length, across rough terrain and, generally, in intense heat.

At least here we can help our leaders, unless of course the celebrities are as famous and as well-liked in the Dusi Valley as Doctor Khumalo, Clive Barker and our 1996 Miss South Africa. In these cases, the local folk carry the canoe for the celebrities. They are so hospitable and so overwhelmed to see royalty in their Valley that they won't allow their heroes to carry their canoes one step. It is rumoured that two years ago the Dusi Valley residents tried to persuade Clive Barker to sit in the canoe while they carried it over a mountain.

There have been rumblings of discontent from the more conservative ranks of the paddling world. This is understandable. Some canoeists object to the apparent favouritism given to the celebrities.

There are complaints that the celebrities don't have to qualify for the race, that they are in all honesty given a guided tour of the Dusi canoe marathon by their experts and that they shouldn't really qualify for Powerade Dusi medals at the end of the three days.

Of course, all the celebrities understand that some of them have not really completed the Dusi to the strict letter of the law. Does it really matter? They have a lot of fans and they bring a lot to the race.

Media attention, interest, sponsorship and prize monies have all picked up since the celebrity category was installed. A few years ago, first prize in the men's category of the Dusi was worth R7 500. Now it is R40 000. The Dusi is becoming a major South African sports event that holds even the interest of those who are not sports fans.

Without a doubt, this year's big story will be the participation of Peggy-Sue Khumalo. Let's hope she makes it, with Oscar Chalupsky's invaluable help. Let's hope too that her participation inspires many more to enter next year's Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon.