Brad Morgan - World class Czech professional paddlers Jakub Adam and Anna Adamova arrived in South Africa six months ago, ready to tackle the Fish River Canoe Marathon. After transitioning impressively to river paddling, they returned to home this past week having put together some fine results, highlighted by podium finishes in the Dusi Canoe Marathon.

The brother and sister duo based themselves at Pietermaritzburg's Natal Canoe Club (NCC), the hosts of the Dusi; the club is working hard to become a venue of choice for European paddlers seeking to escape the winter cold. Once there, they teamed up with two NCC stalwarts to make history in one of the world's biggest and toughest canoe marathons.

Adam joined forces with 2008 flat-water marathon K2 world champion Cam Schoeman, while Adamova teamed up with Abby Adie, a perennial runner-up in the Dusi in recent times to Robyn Kime and Abbey Ulansky.

Adam and Schoeman then placed third behind the winners Andy Birkett and Sbonelo Zondi and Hank McGregor and Jasper Mocke, while Adamova and Adie finished just over a minute behind Kime and Ulansky. Those results created history as the Czechs became the first foreign paddlers to finish on the Dusi podium since the race began in December 1951. 

"The race was fantastic for us," Adam said as he reflected on the highlights of his South African visit before returning home. "We didn't expect to finish in the top three, we expected the top five, so I was very happy to be on the podium. I can compare it with my first medal from the World Championships."

"The portages were very hard for us, because we are not such strong runners, we are paddlers. But we enjoyed it every day. We ran fast on the downhill and the flats. Uphill, we had to walk," he smiled.

"It was my third river season, so I'm still a beginner, but now I feel confident and I am not scared to go through [rocks and rapids]. I learned a lot."

His sister Anna said: "I suppose that I have improved quite a lot because my first time paddling at the Fish River Canoe Marathon I swam quite a lot, about 15 times! In the Dusi, I swam with Abby on the second day, but otherwise it was fine."

Looking back on her Dusi experience, she added: "I was so focused on the race and when I cut my knee [which required stitches] I didn't think about the pain or that I might have a really bad injury. I was thinking that Abby would kill me if I couldn't carry on and finish the race. I, myself, wanted so badly to finish.

"I think we both improved during the running. It's completely different to any other races. For me sometimes, especially at the end of the sprinting season, it's a little bit boring. It's just about going straight, focusing on every stroke, and river paddling is fun for me and something different.

"I was proud to be the first foreign athlete podium on the podium. Also, they [Robyn Kime and Abby Ulansky] had won three times together previously, so for me it was like a miracle or magic that we finished one minute behind them.

"It was nice that we [Adamova and Adam] both managed to make it onto the podium."

Schoeman said of Adam: "I bleed for the guy. He is a good mate of mine." The pair has raced against one another many times in international events, usually finishing within one place of each other too, so they were well matched as a K2 pairing.

"It was fun. We just rock 'n rolled," Schoeman said of their Dusi experience. "He never complained. If I walked, he walked. If I ran, he ran.  That was the most difficult part because my partner in front usually sets the pace. This time it was up to me.

"I was super stoked for him to get onto the podium, especially because when we started at Ithala, which is an A-grade rapid, his river skills in the back weren't amazing. He was bracing like an old man's brace.

"By the start of Dusi, we had tripped enough that he was starting to think like a South African, racing like a South African. There was no stress getting in and out of portages. In massive water, there was no stress. In bumpy shallow stuff, where you have to bump and grind, no stress."

Together Adam and Schoeman put together a strong list of results, including second at Ithala, second in the 50-Miler, third in the Dusi, and second at the Umkomaas Canoe Marathon.

"It is very different. It is more fun to start the season on the river than doing many kilometres on flat water, so it is not boring," Adam said. "Sometimes, if you're doing over 4 000 kilometres per year, it's quite boring to paddle just on one dam. This is fun, and for me it's the best preparation for the sprint season."

"Canoeing in South Africa is very different from the scene in Europe. The peddle system and the rudders in the back of the boats are different. Also, in the beginning, I was scared to hit rocks in the river because we're trying to take care of the boat and clean it after each session, so this is different."

"It has been a good experience. I was surprised by how many elder men are out paddling every morning. That doesn't happen in the Czech Republic. I think it is a much bigger sport here, but for river paddling. Every morning in the Czech Republic, even in summer, is very cold."

Adam and Schoeman are planning to do a number of races together in Europe later in the year, but if they both qualify for the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships they will team up with their national partners – in Schoeman's case, Andy Birkett, for Spain's Sella Descent, which takes place close to the World Champs.

Without confirming dates, Adam said he would like to return to South Africa, while Adamova said she would be back for the Ozzie Gladwin, the country's premier one-day canoe racing.

The biggest long-term goal the Czech stars both have, however, is to be competing in Czech national colours when NCC hosts the 2017 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships, and with their knowledge of Camps Drift, they could enjoy an advantage that lifts them onto another podium.