Hank McGregor might be about to step back from individual races in canoe marathon, but when it comes to ocean racing the big South African is showing no sign of slowing down.

McGregor and Hayley Nixon provided a South African double at the Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic on the weekend, capping off an exciting week of events at one of the world’s premiere ocean racing venues.

McGregor finally got the chance to turn the tables on his Australian nemesis, Cory Hill, on a course he has dominated in recent years, taking his fourth Mauritius Classic.

Hill had the better of McGregor at the past two ICF Ocean Racing World Championships, but the South African was in a determined mood in Saturday’s Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic.

He finished the 24-kilometre race from Sancho Beach to Le Morne in 1.13.11, just ahead of Hill on 1.14.00. Another South African, Dawid Mocke, was third in 1.15.13.

Nixon went into the Mauritius Classic as the current world champion, and lived up to that billing with a powerful performance from start to finish.

She crossed the line in 1.29.23, well ahead of fellow South African and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Bridgitte Hartley, in 1.35.55.

Kyeta Purchase made it a South African trifecta when she finished third in 1.34.28.

More than 80 athletes took part in the Mauritius Surfski Week, the constant downwind course providing competitors with some of the best race conditions on the planet.

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