Australia’s Jaime Mitchell led the pack during the foggy SUP Long Distance Race and won the Gold Medal in a dramatic and tense finish. Trailing Mitchell, from front to back are Kelly Margetts (AUS), Paul Jackson (NZL), Fernando Stalla (MEX) and Casper Steinfath (DEN). Photo: ISA/Tweddle
A dense fog arrived mid-way through the race, which made the conditions very challenging for the competitors. When the SUP Racers turned the last buoy, they emerged out of the fog. In the final moments of the Men’s SUP Race, dark horses Casper Steinfath (DEN) and Fernando Stalla (MEX) caught a wave that gave them the advantage to finish 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Notable standouts included many athletes from emerging wave riding and racing countries including Canada’s Shannon Bell who finished in 3rd place and Laura Quetglas (SPA) who finished in 4th place in the Women’s SUP Race. Peru’s Luiz Escudero and Rocio Larranaga made their country proud today by earning a 4th and 3rd place in the Men and Women’s Paddleboard Races respectively.
“What an amazing turn of events during today’s Long Distance Races,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “The athletes faced very challenging conditions with a dense fog, but they fought through and put on an amazing show. Last year champions fought hard to defend their titles, but equally impressive was to see new faces from emerging wave riding and racing countries. This shows how the sport and the quality of the athletes around the world have developed in a very short amount of time, partially as a consequence of the ISA’s inaugural SUP and Paddleboard championships last year.”
The top four finishers in the Men’s SUP Race finished within four seconds of each other. It was a very close fight to the finish.
“It was really hard flat water and lots of changing of positions with the waves this year,” commented the winner of the Men’s SUP Race Jamie Mitchell, referring to the difficult course design that forced racers to negotiate breaking waves on six different turns. “There were 6 or 7 guys in the last waves coming in and everyone was falling off and made it exciting. I’m just really stoked to get the first medal for Australia.”
Mitchell’s time of 2:32.01 was the fastest of all the racers and the first Gold Medal of the day for Australia.
In the Men’s Paddleboard Race, the defending champion Brad Gaul (AUS) had a dominant win with a time of 2:45:46 beating his 17 year-old teammate Lincoln Dews (AUS), Ryan Butcher (RSA), and Luiz Escudero (PER).
Australia’s Jordan Mercer and Angela Jackson celebrate after winning the Women’s Paddleboard Race and SUP Race respectively. Photo: ISA/Rommel
On the Women’s side, Jordan Mercer defended her title by winning the Women’s Paddleboard Race with a time of 3:00:23 beating South Africa’s Anna Notten and Peru’s Rocio Larranaga.
“It was great to start of with a big one,” remarked the winner of the Women’s Paddleboard Race Jordan Mercer. “It was a little tricky not having much vision. It was a tough fought out paddle.”
Angela Jackson won the Women’s SUP Race with a time of 2:56:40. Olivia Piana (FRA) and Shannon Bell (CAN) had a close fight for 2nd place, but Piana edged out the Canadian.
Here’s a list of the top finishers of today’s Long Distance Races:
Men’s SUP Long Distance Race
Gold- Jamie Mitchell (AUS)- 2:32:01
Silver- Casper Steinfath (DEN)- 2:32:03
Bronze- Fernando Stalla (MEX)- 2:32:04
Copper- Paul Jackson (NZL)- 2:32:05
Women’s SUP Long Distance Race
Gold- Angela Jackson (AUS)- 2:56:40
Silver- Olivia Piana (FRA)- 2:57:31
Bronze- Shannon Bell (CAN)- 2:57:47
Copper- Laura Quetglas (SPA)- 2:58:59
Men’s Paddleboard Long Distance Race
Gold- Brad Gaul (AUS)- 2:45:36
Silver- Lincoln Dews (AUS)- 2:46:36
Bronze- Ryan Butcher (RSA)- 2:56:42
Copper- Luiz Escudero (PER)- 2:57:11
Women’s Paddleboard Long Distance Race
Gold- Jordan Mercer (AUS)- 3:00:23
Silver- Anna Notten (RSA)- 3:00:50
Bronze- Rocio Larranaga (PER)- 3:28:23
Today, Day-3 will begin at 7:40am with the daily Morning Show followed by a full day of SUP Surfing.
Wednesday, 7:40am Peru
Wednesday, 4:40am West Coast USA
Wednesday, 1:40pm Western Europe
Wednesday, 11:40pm Sydney, Australia
Calculate the time for all other areas
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