Local eye doctor earns podium finish at 2016 World Kayak Marathon Championships
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Neville Maytom is used to being on the podium.
So it should come to no surprise that the Nelson Doctor once again early medal honours at the World Kayak Marathon Championships last month in Brandenburg, Germany.
The Canadian combo of Neville and his K2 (double kayak) partner, Rob Lang from Prince Edward Island, finished third, earning a bronze medal in the Masters division.
The 20 kilometer race, which took place in rough windy conditions, was won by a team from South Africa, with Germany finishing second.
Most kayaking nations were represented at this event, with Spain, Hungary, Argentina and South Africa fielding particularly strong teams of paddlers. The Canadian team consisted of five paddlers.
The World Kayak Marathon Championships is an annual event which is organised by the International Canoe Federation (ICF).
The inaugural event took place in Nottingham, England in 1988, and since then has been held in a variety of different countries.
Kayak marathon racing would traditionally have seen competitors race from one point to another on a river or lake, but this format has developed to encourage a more spectator-friendly approach, with lap courses being created which include a number of portages (running while carrying the boat).
The 2016 World Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, consisted of six laps, with four portages.
South Africa will host this event in Pietermaritzburg in 2017.
Maytom, a local eye surgeon, is an enthusiastic local promoter of the sport of Sprint and Marathon Racing Canoe and Kayak.
The local doctor continues to generously donate his time and share his expertise with the developing paddlers of the the Nelson Kayak and Canoe Club. That coaching helped a young crew of padders find success at the 2016 BC Summer Games in Abbotsford.
Maytom, an avid paddler, shot up the kayaking ladder when he won a boat load of medals at the Canadian Masters Championships.
