This week, the 19-year old Matt Millward could do what no other Tuks student-athlete ever did, and that is to finish on the podium on day three of the My Life Dusi Canoe Marathon (Pietermaritzburg to Durban).

The youngster certainly has the credentials to do so. He and Hank McGregor recently won the 26km Ozzie Gladwin Race (SA K2-marathon title). It indicates that they are in good form. During last year's Fish River Canoe Marathon, Millward and Jack Edmonds (both under-18) finished 6th overall, a mere 11 minutes behind the winners.

When Millward (Eurosteel/Quest) talks about canoeing and his goals, it is clear that he has an old head on his young shoulders. To him, a podium finish in the Dusi is a realistic goal. The secret in doing so will be not to make mistakes at a crucial time. Through experience, he knows it takes a mere moment of lapsed concentration for a boat to break. 

One of the big topics is whether the Dusi will be won by the strongest runners or best paddlers every year. Millward admits that he and McGregor prefer to do their thing on the water with paddles in hand.

"I can run with the boat, but I don't enjoy it. Hank is actually not a bad runner. He can run five kilometres in about 16 minutes on a good day. That is 'Flippen' fast."

Andy Birkett has dominated the Dusi Canoe Marathon since 2010. As things stand, Birkett is an 11-time champion. Birkett recently won the Drak Challenge pipping McGregor on the line. He will be partnering with Dave Evans. Evans, an under-23 champion, finished third during last year's Dusi.

The 2008 champion, Michael Mbanjwa, has enlisted Msawenkosi Mtolo to partner with him. Last year Mtolo was fifth. They will undoubtedly be one of the other crews to watch.

Millward accepts that they will not be in the lead after day one as stage one from Campsdrift in Pietermaritzburg to the Dusi bridge (42km) favours the runners. 

"It will be important not to lose more than three minutes to Andy Birkett and Dave Evans during stage one. If we do, things might get challenging. I am confident that we will catch up over the next two days. The long stretch on the Inanda Dam certainly favours us."

The 44-year old McGregor is a two time Dusi champion and has won 11 gold medals at the World Marathon Champs. It begs the question as to how a relative novice got to partner with one of the legends of South African canoeing. 

"I was actually going to paddle with Sam Butcher, who is also a Tuks canoeist. Unfortunately, he had undergone an operation and could not recover in time. It meant I was without a partner.

"I decided to try my luck. A friend of mine's dad knew Hank. So I asked him to talk to Hank about partnering with me for the Dusi. Hank luckily agreed to do so." 

Millward's dad, Shane, got him interested in taking up canoeing. 

"My dad has completed about 30 Dusi's. I was always his biggest fan. At first, I watched from the sidelines. Then I started to second him. I took up canoeing when I was in Grade 8. My dad is my coach.

"I am naturally very competitive, but my dad taught me that it is not worth doing canoeing if you don't enjoy the time on the water. That is why he always encourages me to have fun."

Prof Willem van Riet is the closest Tuks comes to claiming a Dusi champion. He did his PhD at the university and spent twenty years as Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Tuks. He and his brother Roelof were the Dusi champions from 1969 to 1971.

On Thursday, 17 February, it will be the 71st time paddlers compete in the Dusi Canoe Marathon. The canoeists will be challenged by numerous rapids and tricky running sections over 120km (three days). The race finishes at the Blue Lagoon in Durban.