Canoeist Hamish Lovemore grabs SA's first medal at World Games in China
Lovemore was just 0.15 seconds behind Mads Pedersen of Denmark at the finish of he men’s short-distance K1 canoeing to win Team SA’s first medal of the Games.
Hamish Lovemore shares his winning moment at the 2025 World Games with SASCOC President Barry Hendricks on Saturday, 9 August 2025. Picture: Paddlesport South Africa/ Facebook.
JOHANNESBURG – Hamish Lovemore bagged South Africa’s first medal, a silver medal, at the World Games in Chengdu, China, on Saturday.
The Olympian was the fastest qualifier heading into the final of the men’s short-distance K1 canoeing after battling it out with two-time world canoe sprint champion Mads Pedersen (Denmark).
Lovemore was just 0.15 seconds behind the Dane at the finish to bag Team SA’s first medal of the Games.
At the 2022 Games in Birmingham, USA, Team SA returned with one medal – a gold by canoeist Andy Birkett – with a similar-sized squad, 21 athletes over 10 sports.
READ: Hamish Lovemore paddles his way to a silver medal at Canoe Sprint World Cup
This year’s edition of The World Games is being held from 7 to 17 August with 110 countries competing at the Games in Chengdu, totalling around 5,000 athletes.
Team South Africa is represented by a squad of 20 athletes across eight sports.
These are the 12th World Games, a multi-code event for several sports and disciplines that are not in the Olympic Games programme, with the event taking place every four years.
This is South Africa's ninth successive participation at the Games, having accumulated 20 medals from its previous eight appearances, with the most at the 1997 World Games in Lahti, Finland.