The KES 1st Eight had a wonderful year: They won gold at Gauteng Champs, and were never beaten by a Gauteng crew over any distance this season.  They had extremely high hopes coming into the SA Rowing Championships, but knew they would face stiff competition from SACS - victors at the School's Boatrace in December.  Having qualified easily in the heats - and also managing silver in the coxed four the day before, a victory in the final certainly seemed possible.

The showpiece race which took place on Sunday afternoon was extremely exiting.  K.E.S., knowing they were not the most powerful crew, needed to lead from the front and do their best to rattle the other crews.  With 300m to go they were still leading, but the buffer was not big enough to hold off the coastal schools who were both capable of good finishes.  SACS managed to get through KES, opening their lead to half a boat-length by the finish line.  St. Andrews College sneaked through in the closing meters of the race, condeming the Reds to bronze in a race where just over a second seperated the top 3 crews.