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THE WORLD TITLE WINNERS 2001
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Sydney Morning Herald – Sports
Graham Maifredi, who has spent the past fortnight laid up with a stomach
infection, is in no doubt about what he needs to buy before next year’s
world rafting championships: “A couple of water filters.”
Maifredi and his six colleagues are still feeling the effects of last
month’s triumphant visit to Livingstone, Zambia, where illness failed to
stop them out-gunning their more-fancied opposition to win what is widely
regarded as the world’s premier rafting event, the annual Camel White Water
Challenge.
The team became the first Australians to win the competition and it was
the first time since 1998 that a team from Australia had qualified.
The north Queensland-based contingent was pitted against the world’s 15
best rafting nations including defending world champions Russia and
five-time world champions Slovenia and the might of the Zambezi River,
described by Maifredi as “a monster”.
Maifredi said: “The Olympic course [whitewater canoe] at Penrith
carries around 800 cubic feet of water per second [cfs], but the Zambezi
carries over 35,000 cfs.
“It’s over 80 metres deep and if you get sucked down one of its
whirlpools, then your raft and team may not be spat out for 50 or 100 metres.”
Yet the greatest challenge faced by the Australians in securing their
improbable victory did not come from their opposition or the mighty river.
Maifredi said the conditions in Africa induced sickness throughout the
team from the moment they arrived, which allowed them to complete just two
practice runs.
“We really struggled. We had flu, intestinal infections, dysentery.
And then three days out from the event, one of our boys, [kayaker] Clancy
Heywood, was diagnosed with malaria,” Maifredi said.
“We had to get him some shots. I remember he had a pack of pills in
one hand and a glass of water in the other and when he was given the needle,
his eyes rolled back in his head and he just dropped.
“I suddenly found myself two days out from competition and one of my
guys had gone down in a third-world hospital and was unconscious.”
Heywood recovered admirably to finish eighth in his kayaking section only
days later.
The Australians are looking forward to their title defence next September
on Nepal’s Sun-Kosi River, where they will face similar hardships.
But one thing that will be different next year is that they will be
chasing a different trophy.
The 45kg “big bloody stainless steel thing” brought home to
Tully by Maifredi and his team is staying put, as Camel’s sponsorship will
not be continuing.
Maifredi said: “We had to bribe plenty of porters and airline people
to get it back here. I don’t think it’s going anywhere now.”
For More Information Contact:
The Australian Rafting Federation
ADDRESS: PO BOX 455 TULLY QLD 4854
TEL: 61 07 40 682-288
FAX: 61 07 40 682-858
INTERNET: www.austraftfed.com
Web Changes
Recent Media Coverage of The Australian Rafting Federation
- Illness among raft of obstacles in rapid rise to world title
By Michael Bradley
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