Five-time world champion paddler, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team South Africa), was declared ‘Sportsman of the Year’ at the World Paddle Awards’ inaugural ceremony in Augsburg, Germany, on Saturday, 9 May 2015.

McGregor claimed 53% of the overall results tallied from both World Paddle Awards Academy and the public vote. He narrowly pipped finalist, Fabien LeFevre (double Olympian and world champion in canoe slalom from the USA), to the post with Germany's Sebastian Brendel (current world and Olympic champion in sprint canoeing) in third.  

Said McGregor after being presented with the award by Olympic Champion Birgit Fischer, “It’s a true honour to receive this award, presented by Birgit Fischer who is an absolute legend in our sport. This award is really special to me as many athletes know that hard training and dedication sometimes go by unnoticed but this award has made all the difference. Paddling is more than just a sport, it is my way of life.  

“Thank you to all the people who have supported me along the way – my wife Pippa, my parents, my training partners, my friends in South Africa and around the world, my sponsors and all the people who voted for me - without you I wouldn't be here.”  

McGregor’s ‘Sportsman of the Year’ victory was based on his exceptional 2014 achievements. Last year, he rewrote the history books by becoming the first South African to ever win both the K1 and K2 gold medals at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Oklahoma City, USA. To achieve double gold was a superhuman feat, with McGregor completely dominating the 35-km K1 race from start to finish. Two weeks after the World Championships, McGregor then “won the one he wanted”; the 82-km Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon in a K1, adding to his staggering five consecutive K2 'Fish' wins.  

McGregor also holds the record for the fastest K1 Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon, after completing the 120-km race in 2006 in less than eight hours – the first K1 and K2 boat home. In early 2014, he won the K2 Non-stop Dusi with Sbonelo Zondi.

Testament to McGregor’s talent across multiple paddling disciplines, he is currently training for his title defence of two very different events on two different continents that fall within days of each other – the Molokai Surfski World Championships in Hawaii on 30 May 2015 and the 2015 SA Canoe Marathon Championships in Pietermaritzburg on 6 June 2015.  

Other Jeep Team news…

Surfski

With McGregor away in Germany, Jeep Team’s Barry Lewin represented the team at Race#4 of the Bay Union Surfski Series, in Durban on Sunday, 10 May 2015. Lewin claimed an impressive 3rd place finish in 1h01m41s, behind Wade Krieger in 1st and Steve Woods in 2nd.