Dusi great Andy Birkett teams up with Fenn again as record-breaking 16th title looms

Dusi Canoe Marathon ace Andy Birkett will team up with his winning partner from 2024, Matt Fenn, in next year's race from February 19-21, where he could secure the tile of undisputed Dusi king with a 16th triumph. 

The legendary paddler is currently tied on 15 titles with the late Graeme Pope-Ellis.

Next year’s race will be the first time that Birkett has the same partner as the previous K2 race since he won the Dusi twice with Jason Graham in 2012 and 2014. 

Should the Euro Steel duo win next year, Fenn will also become the first paddler, apart from Birkett, to win the prestigious race twice since Lance Kime won the K2 race with Birkett in 2016.

“We’ve started getting excited for Dusi, but it is still a while away; we've had to get our running started,” said Birkett. 

"Having paddled together two years ago, it means that things will be a little more straightforward this year. You put so much work into the first race that you do together, and we've already done a lot of that work. We obviously have to train but we sit straighter in the boat and we know how one another races.” 

With the 2026 N3TC Drak Challenge having been cancelled due to the current foot and mouth outbreak, the 35-year-old is worried about being a bit rusty going into the Dusi. 

"I know that the first time that I jump in a river at the start of the season, I'm rusty,” he said. "I need a few paddles to get my river legs back and get stable on the river again, so it takes a bit of time."

Birkett will rightly be regarded as the greatest paddler – or GOAT – in the 74-year history of the gruelling three-day, 120km river race from Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon, Durban, should the duo leave the rest of the field in their wake once again. The soft-spoken star has never chased records or been comfortable with labels, however.

“I haven't given it any thought, and with each year there are so many different variables that go into the race that it's not something that I am chasing,” he said of a potential 16th Dusi title. “I paddle and paddle the Dusi because I enjoy it and I don't even contemplate that. If we start thinking about people's views, perceptions and why we are doing it, it's an unnecessary distraction. 

"It's always been a case of problem solving while we are racing and trying to stay calm because things get thrown at you all the time. What is going to be an advantage is that Matt also has a calm racing head on him, and he understands that it's a three-day race and you can lose a bit of time here and there but you want to keep mistakes down to a minimum,” Birkett added.

In another milestone, next year’s race will also be broadcast on television for the first time in years, thanks to a new partnership between the Dusi Canoe Marathon, Megapro, and MegaLive.