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Pietermaritzburg - After an impressive debut last year, Danish canoeist Martin Friedrichsen’s hopes of a competitive 2020 K2 Dusi have been dashed after he was involved in a serious car accident in his home country.
Friedrichsen was the first K2 finisher in the last Dusi, partnering local paddler Trenton Lamble, and left invigorated by the experience and promising to return for the 2020 K2 championship race with the Euro Steel team.
However, the Dane was seriously injured when he was involved in a car crash in November caused by another vehicle swerving to avoid a deer on the road, and was hospitalised.
According to his mother, Jane, his recovery has been slow but steady, but any hopes of paddling the 2020 Dusi have been ruled out.
“Martin got a very powerful concussion with blood collections in the brain,” she said.
“He suffered losses of short term memory, and suffered a stomach injury, caused by the seat belt. His recovery will focus on his physical health as well as the cognitive part of the brain.”
Lamble said he had managed to catch up with Friedrichsen earlier this week and was happy to hear that the popular paddler is making good progress with his recovery.
“Martin has regained much of his short term memory and is starting to walk without the aid of crutches, however he is very disappointed that he cannot come to South Africa to race the Dusi in February,” said Lamble.
“The doctors believe he will make a full recovery, however this will take a few months.
“Despite his injuries, Martin remains typically upbeat and mentioned he will just have to shift his focus to a K1 Dusi in 2021!” Lamble added.
The 2020 Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place for February 27-29, 2020.
Entry details and more information can be found at www.dusi.co.za
