Hamish Lovemore takes aim at senior marathon crown and Paris Games

Paddler Hamish Lovemore, now aged 23, will learn more this coming year as to whether he is able to straddle sprint and marathon racing. 

The 2022 under-23 world marathon champion is already plotting his assault on the senior endurance crown that is held by countryman Andy Birkett as he ventures beyond the relative safety of age-group competition. 

And Lovemore is also eyeing a spot on the Olympic team for Paris 2024 in the K1 1,000m race, in which he ended eighth at the u-23 sprint world championships last year. 

It sounds fairly ambitious, but Lovemore is mastering his craft at the school of hard knocks under the tutelage of Hank and Lee McGregor in Durban North. 

Hank, an 11-time world marathon champion, is a mentor and training partner and his father Lee, a former swimming ace, is the coach.

Lovemore chuckles as he talks about their no-compromise attitude to racing.

“They say first is first and second is nothing,” said Lovemore, adding he felt huge pressure going into the u23 world championships in Portugal.

With the blessing of his parents he had thrown everything into competing full-time, which included going into training camps in Europe, one with the strong Danish outfit and another with Portuguese star Jose Ramalho.

“You don’t really feel it [the pressure] before the event,” said Lovemore. “You’re training, your mind is set on one goal. You eat, sleep, dream — all you’re thinking about is the race, how it’s going to play out, you’re visualising the moves that could take place. 

“You line up [and] there’s 45 guys you’re racing against … all world class. You don’t want to mess up. That’s the pressure. I’d been there for nine weeks of training, my family came over, and you don’t know how the other guys are going.”

But the hard work he’d put in paid off quickly. “To be honest, after the start of the u23 race my nerves relaxed completely because I realised I’m in good shape.”

The next day he competed in the senior race and finished sixth, convincing people — including Birkett — that he might have won had he not raced the u-23.

You’re training, your mind is set on one goal. You eat, sleep, dream — all you’re thinking about is the race

—  Paddler Hamish Lovemore

“After 100m of the senior race I knew I was racing with a puncture from the day before,” said Lovemore, who has got the better of Hank and Birkett in local races. 

The marathon world champs were a month after the sprint world champs where he also finished third in the non-Olympic K1 5,000m, after missing a turn late in the race. 

“I think Hank almost knocked me out when I got home — missing a turn is a rookie error,” he said with a laugh. 

In 2023 the sprint world championships, which double up as an Olympic qualifier, are a week before the marathon race. 

“I’ll probably focus on marathon,” he said, pointing out he could still book a ticket to Paris through the African qualifying regatta in 2024.

“I’m really hungry for that [senior] world title. The job is not done by winning the u-23 title.  “I train with Hank every day and he’s calling it a category champ. He knows what I want,” Lovemore said. 

“I’ve got the team around me, with Hank as a mentor and Lee as coach. Both of them have analysed my races and told me what I did wrong and we’re going to work on all those weaknesses,” said Lovemore, who took up paddling at high school at Hilton. 

Before that his favourite sport was surfing. “I’m a beach boy. I love surfing. Fishing, surfing, braai on the beach, swim on the beach. Deep-sea fishing. I have a paddling kayak that I fish off — I do a lot of my training on the fishing ski.”

The camps in Europe have helped him to stay focused. “It’s no distractions. I don’t have my friends asking me for a beer. I’m a sucker for a beer,” he added with a laugh. 

The training is hard, but it’s rewarding. “I’ve made so many great friends around the world. The actual race is only two hours — the rest is your friendships, and the people you meet, and the training.”

And the winning.