Liam Lace wins marathon kayak thriller in Tauranga

Liam Lace has taken his love of kayaking on the Whanganui Awa to winning the 2021 New Zealand Kayak Marathon Championships in Tauranga last weekend. The course is a gut buster – 26km of paddling, involving four laps and three portages (when you have to carry the kayak).

The marathon was made more difficult by strong winds and three other competitive kayakers who challenged Liam all the way. Liam says, “It was pretty tough out there because of the wind. There was a lot of flow and debris on the course – a lot of weed kept getting caught on the rudder.”

He adds, “I was in a tough group of paddlers with Sam, (Newland) Ben (McCullum) and Tupu (King). At the first portage, I took a bit of a gamble and back-pedalled to get rid of some weed – and I think this helped me conserve a bit of energy.”

At the end he was able to “pip Sam by a nose” after 26 km. This is Liam’s first National Title in the Kayak Marathon Championships but at age only 21, he is likely to be around for a lot longer.

Liam is based in Cambridge about only 5 minute’s drive away from Lake Karapiro where he trains twice a day for 6 days a week. “I would train for at least 4 hours each day,” he says. Liam is also a student at Waikato University studying a Bachelor of Business with a focus on marketing. Fortunately, he is able to ‘attend’ most lectures and tutorials on-line and is therefore able to schedule them around his training.

The kayaking season is not over. The Sprint Nationals, which were to take place in March, have been re-scheduled to 14 - 16 May. Liam will be competing in events between 200 and 1000 metres.

He doesn’t have much time to relax but he does say, “To win the marathon title feels pretty surreal. It is not something I expected, but it is an awesome feeling for sure.”

River City Press 15/4/21