Lythgoes Adrenalin Rush

And in 2nd Place – Team UK

Rob / 30.05.2002

As Team UK approached the finish they were laughing and joking, splashing each other with their paddles, and happy with their second place. They took their time getting out of their kayaks before crossing the line and celebrating, and sharing a word with the winners, who were there to see them in.

Inevitably, they reflected on the meeting they’d had on the water earlier in the morning, the final turning point in their race. “I think we lost the plot there a little at the end,� said Pete James. “I’d been nailing the nav. all night but lost it around dawn. Tom took over but he was out of it too, then Dave had a go. If we’d decided to stay with them we could have outpaddled them at the end, no doubt of it, but we decided to do our own thing. Still, it’s a great performance for a team that had 2 late replacements with only 12 days to go.�

The 2 late replacements were happy. Dave Norona said, “It was a fantastic course, I loved it, but when Pete said we’d be wet all the time I didn’t really appreciate what he meant! I do now. We got on well and had fun and that’s what it’s all about. A great race.�

Alex Stewart was all smiles. “I’m ecstatic. When they asked me to compete I thought – why not! I didn’t know any of the guys, but they are great to race with. I’d hardly done any paddling for a couple of years and never abseiled more than 30m so it’s a great result.�

Tom Gibbs just said, “On that final stage I was just trying to stay awake and not fall out of the boat, but it was a great race and a good course, especially near the end. The main things is we had such a relaxed atmosphere in the team, it was almost like being on holiday much of the time!�