Holy down-to-the-wire finishes, by the same two paddlers for the second year in a row. In 2016, Eric Dequil bested Pat Keller by just one second in the coveted Green Race on North Carolina’s Green River, and this year he did it again, beating Keller by just seven-tenths of a second in one of the kayak world’s biggest badges of courage and race for bragging rights…
The 2017 Green River Narrows race in North Carolina drew paddlers from around the country and the world. Eric Deguil of France won the day in the with a time of 4:05.5, setting a new course record just seven tenths of a second ahead of North Carolina’s very own Pat Keller (4:06.2). The finish mimicks the finish of the 2016 race, in which Deguil beat Keller by one second. It wasn’t so close for the women, with Adriene Levknecht once again proving her dominance on this course, winning with a margin of almost 40 seconds.
And in 2015, Dane Jackson tied Dequil to the nearest tenth of a second for first place.
“It’s pretty impossible to tie,” says Jackson. “In 2015, it was considered just a legend, a myth, that two people could tie for first place, and then I did it with Eric. And then I tied with Isaac Levinson the year before for second. Then Pat and Eric differed by only seven-tenths of a second this year. It’s definitely pretty wild.”
As usually, parties were as much of the weekend as the paddling, with the event kicking off Thursday at The Salvage Station in Asheville for the world premiere of “This is the Nolichucky” by AmongstIt, an effort to bring awareness to designating the Nolichucky River as Wild & Scenic. The event also included a raffle ticket for a custom Green Race Dagger Green Boat to raise further funds for the effort.
The post-event Oskar Blues Green Race Awards Party was held at the Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall, featuring video footage from the day, cold Oskar Blues beverages, Green Race apparel and of course the crowning of the 2017 Green Race Champions.
Read about Dane Jackson’s tie with Dequil in 2015 HERE
Results>/b>
1 1 Eric Deguil Long K1 04:05.5
2 2 Pat Keller Long K1 04:06.2
3 5 Dane Jackson Long K1 04:15.7
4 11 Colin Hunt Long K1 04:17.2
5 23 Ian Wingert Long K1
1 201 Eric Deguil Short K1 04:30.6
2 203 Brad Mcmillan Short K1 04:40.1
3 4 Alec Voorhees Short K1 04:46.0
4 209 Holt Mcwhirt Short K1 04:48.1
5 205 Dane Jackson Short K1
>b>Women
1 15 Adriene Levknecht Long K1W 04:39.8
2 85 Katie Dean Long K1 05:17.9
3 102 Mackenzie Hatcher Long K1W 05:37.7
4 91 Genevi‹¬Ve Royer Long K1W 05:43.1
5 92 Erin Savage Long K1W
View full results HERE