Molokaʻi 2 Oʻahu Paddleboard World Championship finishes Day 1 of competition
Paddleboard foil athletes completed a 40-mile course this past weekend from ʻĪlio Point on Molokaʻi to Kaimana Beach in Waikiki in the first day of two weekend days of competition in the Molokaʻi 2 Oʻahu Paddleboard World Championships.
The first day of competition featured the solo disciplines of standup paddle and WING foil.
Complete results are available at Molokai2Oahu.com.
The men’s SUP Foil race was fast and closely contested, according to race organizers. Edoardo Tanas from Italy glided across the finish line in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 58 seconds. The 21-year-old Tanas finished just ahead of Hawai`i’s Finn Spencer, 20, (2:04:58) who won the 2023 edition of M20 in the wing foil division.
Andrew Gibbons, 25, from Hawai`i finished seconds behind Spencer in a time of 2:04:40 to claim third place.
In the women’s SUP foil race, Annie Reickert, 23, from Hawai`i won convincingly in 2:27:12, besting her second place finish in last year’s M2O crossing. In her first experience at M20, Fiona Wylde from Hood River, Oregon, navigated the Ka`iwi Channel with the experience of her competitors from Hawai`i, crossing second at a time of 2:36:49.
Gabriella Bella, 20, from Hawai`i finished in third in 2:52:09.
MEN
- Edoardo Tanas, 21, Italy, 2:02:58
- Finn Spencer, 20, Hawaii, USA, 2:04:09
- Andrew Gibbons, 25, Hawaii, USA, 2:04:40
WOMEN
- Annie Reickert, 23, Hawaii, USA, 2:27:12
- Fiona Wylde, 27, Hood River, USA, 2:36:49
- Gabriella Bella, 20, Hawaii, USA, 2:52:27
SOLO WING FOIL
The men’s Wing Foil race was won by 25-year-old Aidan Nicholas from New Zealand. The Kiwi placed second in the 2023 race, but nobody came close this year as he figuratively flew across the Ka’iwi Channel in 1:49:04.
Bobo Gallagher, 15, from Hawai`i improved on his performance from 2023 to finish second in 2:02:35.
Hawai`i’s Justin Simmer, 20, finished in third place in 2:03:11.
It was an all-Hawai`i sweep in the women’s race. Top finisher Nani Dalene Nekoba finished just seconds ahead of second place finisher Anna Kalabukhova, 22, with times of 2:31:16 and 2:31:20 respectively.
As one of the most accomplished foilers in the field, 62-year-old Cynthia Brown claimed third with a time of 2:50:48.
M2O is presented by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority with additional support from Duke’s Waikiki, Florence, Maui Brewing Company, Dryrobe, Futures Fins, Garmin, Reyn Spooner, Talis Crew, Bark, Kauai Coffee, Pauwela Beverage Company, DotVison and Ocean Paddler.
Founded in 1997, Molokaʻi 2 Oʻahu has grown from a grass-roots challenge for the legendary lifeguards of O’ahu to the premiere event in the sport of paddleboarding and foil racing. The race annually crowns world champions in the three disciplines of prone and stand-up paddleboarding and foil. In 2018, a hydrofoil division was added to welcome the evolution in technology of stand up paddling.
Connecting the islands of Molokaʻi and Oʻahu, the 32-mile race crosses the Ka’iwi Channel, also known as the Moloka’i Channel and Channel of Bones. An international field of men and women face strong currents as they navigate the fastest downwind route over one of the most beautiful and powerful channels in the world. Athletes ride mid-channel waves that can crest more than 12 feet and carry paddlers hundreds of meters. M2O starts along the northwest shore of Molokaʻi and finishes along the southwest tip of Oʻahu. The annual race is adeeply personal experience, challenging every paddler’s physical and mental endurance.
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