Brad Morgan - Former K2 world marathon champion Cam Schoeman (pictured right) has announced his retirement from competitive paddling. The Natal Canoe Club star can look back on a sparkling career laden with highlights.

Citing those that immediately come to mind, he said: "Paddling the sprints with Stu Waterworth, we made an A-final [in the World Cup] in Szeged (Hungary), winning the World Champs with Ant [Stott], going to the Sella Descent with Ant and then Andy [Birkett] a year later, and coming fifth in both.

"Coming third at the Villaviciosa [Spain's second largest race] was a big highlight, finishing third in the Dusi with Jakub [Adam] was a big highlight, and coming eighth in the Dusi as a junior with Steve Bird, when we won the under-18 section. We hold the record for Fish and we still hold the record for Dusi in the junior sections.

"At one stage I did a helluva lot of sprinting overseas. I won medals in Bochum, there were lots of things actually. I've had a fairly successful career," he said modestly.

"Cam is as hard as nails. He's one of the toughest guys out there," his World Championship-winning partner Ant Stott said. "It's a bit sad that he is stopping. He's young, but I totally understand his decision. He has a lot going for him on his farm. It's a pity it had to come so early. It was probably the right decision as a career move because at the end of the day he is not going to be paddling competitively his whole life."

"He's got a world title. If you think about it, I paddled for over 20 years and I got a world title. He paddled for maybe 10 years and got a world title. At the end of the day, we both end up with the same thing. He just got his way sooner than anybody else could have ever hoped for. He still achieved the pinnacle of world canoeing. I'm sure he won't have any regrets. He has done everything he wanted to do."

Schoeman said he would take a lot away from his days of paddling competitively: "I've made a helluva lot of friends, and definitely a lot of international friends. The only continent - besides the Arctic and Antarctic - that I haven't been to is South America. I would like to have gone to the World Marathon Championships again this year, but now I have other things to do."

"I don't think there are many people my age who have been to as many countries as I have. I'm happy."

Schoeman plans to continue paddling on a social level. "I will definitely do the big water stuff," he said, "Umkomaas, Ithala, and the Big Tugela. I'll do some bicycle riding too. The [multi-day] Berg and Bush MTB Race goes through my community, so to stay active and keep fit, why not do that?"

"I think I will definitely do the Dusi on a social level," he added, before suggesting one final competitive fling might be in his future.

"I would honestly consider paddling another big Dusi with Jakub [Adam] in two years' time. I would need six months to prepare for it and I would prepare at home, on the farm. I wouldn't be preparing in Pietermaritzburg.

"I would like to do some more races with my girlfriend [Jenna Starr]. Ithala is one that is definitely on the cards."

Schoeman said he was also grateful to people who had supported him during his career. "My folks and [Dusi chairman] Cameron McKenzie have been there for me from the start," he said.

"Ant Stott and Len Jenkins would be another two because they helped me when I was younger. Craig Mustard, who I used to paddle with and has since become a coach, too, and [Natal Canoe Club General Manager] Brett Austen Smith. I think he is doing a good job at NCC. I wish we had had this nice stuff five years ago. I can't forget Owen Hemingway. He has always been around for river stuff."

"The most important people, though, would be Cameron McKenzie and my folks, and then my girlfriend, who has supported me for four years."

Praising Schoeman, besides recognising his many achievements, McKenzie acknowledged him as a great ambassador and role model. "He has chosen to go out on a high, and if he can adopt the same approach to creating a life for himself outside of canoeing, I think he is going to do well," he said.

"There's a loss of a generation [with his departure]. He spanned the gap between amateur and professional competition, when you could do more than one discipline.

"It is a pity [that he is retiring so young]. Obviously we are going to miss him, but the same as I have supported him in his canoeing career, I will offer him my full support in the next part of his life."
   
To those who competed against him, Schoeman's grit and determination will remain a hallmark of his paddling. As NCC coach Craig Mustard recently shared, Schoeman would literally push himself until he became ill in training.

Natal Canoe Club GM Brett Austen Smith paid tribute to one of the club's brightest stars, saying: "Cam has been one of NCC's most successful paddlers of recent years, excelling at all disciplines he turned his hand to. His peers have known him as one of the most determined and bravest paddlers, always prepared to give his very best.

"Cam was the youngest ever World Marathon Champion when he won in 2008 at just 19 years old, and to think he is now only 25 and has achieved so much is phenomenal.

"He has been an extremely loyal NCC member, and will always be welcome here at the Club whenever he is in town. South Africa really is going to miss him on the competitive side of canoeing, and we wish him the very best in his new ventures."