ABOUT THIS EPISODE
"The canoeist's Everest." "The hardest thing I've ever done." "I can do anything now". There's a million ways to describe the feeling of walking up the steps at Westminster Bridge having completed 125 miles of paddling. But every paddler who's done it knows the same feeling. On Easter Sunday, more than 80 intrepid paddlers experienced the feeling of finishing the 125 mile, non-stop Devizes to Westminster canoe race.
Billy Butler and Jon O'Grady took the overall win in their third attempt together as a crew: they finished 2nd in 2024 and 3rd in 2025, so this win has been a long time coming. "It's about time we pulled something out the bag," said Jon. "I think it proves to people that if you work hard at it, you can get it," said Billy. The win was hard-fought against the second place crew of Alex Lane / Magnus Gregory, who led the race from Pewsey to Marlow after gaining 5 minutes on Billy / Jon during the portage-heavy stretch of canal. It was Magnus' first DW attempt and first finish. Asked how he felt at Westminster, he emphatically replied: "Awful!" Alex and Magnus are one of several top mixed crews to finish Top 3 in the last few years, and rumour has it that Alex is already considering another run at DW in 2027 -- or at least she'll think about it after she completes the running ultra race she has planned later this year.
George Durden / James Walkinton of Elmbridge Canoe Club and Chelmsford Canoe Club finished in 3rd place following a stunning performance on the Tideway that was quick enough to overtake 4th place, Luke Escott / James Webster of Bradford on Avon Canoe Club. George and James started the race relatively slow, just focused on getting to the finish in their first non-stop DW attempt. But when they got to Teddington, they found enough energy in reserve that they paddled an exceptional time of 1 hour 50 minutes from Teddington to Westminster.
All three crews join this double episode (triple?) of Paddlecast to talk about what was going on behind the scenes: Alex was recovering from a torn hamstring, Magnus used his 221 sprint blades to race, Jon thought briefly at Elmbridge that his shoulder might stop them from finishing the race, and George / James almost decided not to enter because the lean in their boat was so bad.
0:00:24 DW Race Recap & Results vs Predictions
0:22:26 - Billy Butler / Jon O’Grady Interview (1st Place)
0:56:06 - Alex Lane / Magnus Gregory Interview (2nd Place, 1st Mixed)
1:37:24 - George Durden / James Walkinton Interview (3rd Place)
Devizes to Westminster 2026: Notable Results
1st: Billy Butler / Jon O’Grady, 16:46:17 *1st Veteran
2nd: Alex Lane / Magnus Gregory, 17:08:41 *1st Mixed
3rd: George Durden / James Walkinton, 17:28:38
4th: Luke Escott / James Webster, 17:44:14
5th: Tom Dawson / Aritz Martiartu, 18:41:56
6th: Jouke Witteveen / Floor Zegers, 18:55:45 *Dutch Record
7th: Mike Thornton / Shirine Voller, 19:08:20 *1st Canoe *2nd Mixed
8th: Laurence Plant / Cath Drummond, 19:50:38 *3rd Mixed
Alex Bowyer / Elle Bowyer, 21:33:09 *Mixed Services Record
Anja Whelan / Rebecca Bird, 22:15:00 *1st Women’s/Ladies
IN THIS EPISODE
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
OTHER EPISODES IN THIS PODCAST
