Dusi Canoe Marathon king Andy Birkett is not ready to hang up his canoe, despite securing a tenth title in a row at the weekend, and record-equaling fifteenth overall.
Instead, it seems like his love affair with the iconic South African canoeing event has only grown stronger.
The grueling race through the Msunduzi and uMngeni valleys that started at Bishopstowe Country Club in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday morning and ended at Blue Lagoon in Durban on Saturday.
There were said to be a number of pretenders to Birkett's throne ahead of the race.
Included on that list were his Euro Steel teammate and 2024 K2 winning partner Matthew Fenn, Msawenkosi Mtolo, the runner-up in the past two editions of the race, Sandile Mtolo, Sbonelo Khwela, Siseko Ntondini and the ever-green Thulani Mbanjwa.
In the end, the greatest challenge came from SEW Eurodrive's Khwela, especially on the first two days of racing.
Khwela eventually came home in second place. He had to fend off a strong challenge of his own from Fenn.
However, as has often proved the case, Birkett raced his own race up front. He finished in a time of 7:12:50, more than five minutes clear of Khwela (7:20:31).
"It's my 21s jersey. Every year is hard. It's a tough race, but an awesome race," Birkett told Independent Media Sport at the finish line.
"I love it, not just the racing, but the prep for it. You're not just training but you're trying to find your route down the river and strategise. You spend the afternoon in the valley again to try and have a look at a few things as the water level changes. So it's a unique, special race.
"You don't know what to expect. I was really just enjoying the race and the excitement after each day, trying to plan for the next day. Ja, I love it."
It helps that his wife Nikki is also a canoeist. She finished second in the women's race behind four-time winner Christie Mackenzie.
Nikki also helped with a strategic decision for Saturday’s stage, when Andy was considering a time-consuming portage that could have jeopardised his five-minute lead.
Birkett eventually made a bold decision that consolidated his position.
“Today I was pretty nervous because there was so much water,” Birkett said on Saturday. “I went and checked out Tops (Needle) yesterday and thought I would have to portage it, but I didn’t have the luxury of portaging it because I would lose almost three minutes.
“Nix, my wife, said I had to shoot it, so I drove back down in the evening and shot it and worked out a nice line for today (Saturday).”
Saturday's win was all the more memorable for Birkett, who appreciates all the support that he gets in chasing Dusi victories.
“It’s a huge sacrifice for myself and my family every year and I have huge support.
"To be able to paddle this race every year is a privilege and I’m very grateful for that and I will be back again next year,” Birkett concluded.
That's bad new for his rivals who must have surely been hoping that the king would abdicate soon.
Race leader Andy Birkett was involved in a neck-and-neck tussle with Sbonelo Khwela early on day two of the 2025 Dusi Canoe Marathon. @IOLsport @DusiCanoe https://t.co/KB4lKLgaYZ