Top paddler to miss Drak and Dusi
Alex Adie has been forced out of both contests after suffering a serious left shoulder tendon injury in a surfski accident in Cape Town.
While her twin sister, Abby, has become the country’s leading all-round female river marathoner in recent times, Alex’s career has been plagued with injuries with her latest misfortune now added to a long list of progress-haltering mishaps.
With five-time Dusi winner, Robyn Kime, not to play any role in the 2015 women’s mix due to her international travels, Alex was being tipped as the strongest threat to her sibling Abby’s title challenge.
With Abby having played second fiddle to Kime on all five occasions that Kime has won the Dusi, many were relishing an Adie twins showdown in 2015 as Abby looked to secure a maiden Dusi title and with Alex out to show she is just as capable as her arguably better known sister.
“Unfortunately there is very little news to report on as far as paddling goes for me at this stage as I’ve torn a tendon in my left shoulder, which is still quite sore, and I’ll probably only be able to start training again towards the end of February!” explains a disappointing Alex Adie.
“I tore it in a Sea Dog Paddle Series surfski race a couple of weeks before the Cape Point Challenge at the end of last year. As we were coming in we got sideways and as we fell out of our ski it yanked out,” she adds.
Despite seeking multiple medical opinions, the news disappointingly remained the same.
“I went to Julia Thomas – a physiotherapist down here in the Cape – as well as a specialist for an ultrasound before going to also see Mandy Rawlins back in Pietermaritzburg and unfortunately all of them said the same thing!”
The ill-timed paddling mishap has forced Adie off the water and unable to challenge her sister in Underberg’s annual on 24 and 25 January as well as the iconic three day Pietermaritzburg to Durban clash however the young talent remains upbeat and active.
“With me not being able to paddle I’m now going to look to focus on my trail running as I prepare to tackle the African X race with a friend in March. I’ve never done a trail running stage race so I’m putting in some hard work on my running now and I’m looking forward to giving that a go in a few weeks’ time,” she adds optimistically.
The 64th edition of the Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place from Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon in Durban from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 February 2015.
(File Photo: John Hishin/Gameplan Media)
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