The 2026 Dusi Canoe Marathon will see the brother combination of Msawenkosi and Sandile Mtolo pair up for a shot at the title from 19-21 February.

Both brothers have impressive Dusi pedigrees and Msawenkosi has a runner-up medal to his name, when he and Sbonelo Khwela finished second in the K2 race in 2024.

Sandile is also a strong Dusi paddler and the pair will be a threat to anyone that is looking to finish on the podium this year. With an intense training program and some good experience under their belts, the Mtolo duo will be one to watch in 2026.

Heading into 2026 the pair have spent their build-up focusing on taking the race day by day and they’ve put a lot of emphasis on preparation heading into the 2026 race.

“Training for the Dusi is always a very interesting process because you focus on doing the right things that you think will work over the three days, but the race is so unpredictable,” Msawenkosi Mtolo said.

“You really cannot predict what is going to happen, how you are going to feel so you just need to manage yourself at the end of each day of the race.”

Looking at how Mtolo approaches the race, he says that him and his brother follow a very similar structure to what he has in the past.

“There’s not much that needs to be change for this year’s race. We will be just keeping with the same previous plan but maybe improve our tactics and approach for the race to know what to do and when we need to do it.

“We’ve both gained a lot of experience from the Dusi so we will hope that that will also help us over the three days of racing.”

Speaking of the sibling partnership, Msawenkosi is excited to tackle the Dusi with his brother in what will be their first Dusi together.

“It’s so good to have him in the boat,” Msawe said. “We enjoy paddling together and keeping each other motivated on and off the water.

“We support each other a lot in both our paddling and in other parts of over lives.”

The big question that always arises when elite crews team up is who will be at the front of the boat? This question is yet to be answered by the brothers.

“We will only decide who’s going to drive the boat closer to the time. We are both comfortable driving the boat and we are both happy to be at the back to we will see how we go closer to the race.”

The Mtolo brothers are expected to be locked in an exciting battle at the sharp end of the field that will include the likes of Andy Birkett and Matt Fenn as well as Sbonelo Khwela and Bongani Ntinga along with a number of other exciting crews.

Entries for the 2026 Dusi Canoe Marathon are open at https://paddler.paddlesportsa.com/