International field competes in second weekend of Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships

The prone paddleboard race was the featured competition for an international field of athletes in the last of two race weekends celebrating the 25th Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships.

The competition was presented by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority. Champions in the standup paddleboard were also crowned at the finish line at Maunalua Bay on O’ahu. 

Racers covered a 32-mile course from the island of Moloka’i to O’ahu. Complete results are available at Molokai2Oahu.com.

The 25th annual competition saw an all Australian sweep in both the men’s unlimited and stock prone paddle board races.

Charlie Verco won the world’s toughest challenge in the sport for the second year in a row. The 22-year-old from North Bondi, New South Wales, covered the course in 4 hours, 26 minutes, 28 seconds, beating his time in 2023 by more than 26 minutes. 

Verco’s countryman and former M2O champion Stewart Mclachlan, 36, finished a close second (4:29:06). 

Rounding out the podium positions for Australia in the unlimited prone category was Campbell Guthrie, 25, in a time of 4:47:28.

In the men’s stock paddleboard race, Lachie Lansdown, 28, returned to Channel of Bones and reclaimed top honors since his last victory in 2021. Lansdown finished in a time of 5:09:45 and about four minutes ahead of the second place finisher, Brayden Casamento, 23, who finished in 5:13:21.

Harrison Stone, 26, closed out the Australians’ dominating performance in the prone discipline to finish third (5:24:13).

In the women’s race, 33-year-old Katrina Madill from New Zealand was the first woman overall among both the unlimited and stock paddleboard contenders in the field, winning on a shorter stock paddleboard. Madill finished in a time of 6:24:13 to claim back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024. 

Madill’s closest competition came from Bronte Harland, 30, from Australia (6:44:04) who finished second overall and first in the unlimited paddleboard category.

At 53, Hawaiʻi’s Matt Sack kept his streak of 25 consecutive races going, finishing in 6:48:50.

MEN UNLIMITED

1. Charlie Verco, 23, North Biondi, AUS, 4:26:28
2. Stewart Mclachlan, 36, Redhead, AUS, 4:29:06
3. Campbell Guthrie, 25, Alexandra Headland, AUS, 4:47:28

WOMEN UNLIMITED

1. Bronte Hartland, 30, Buderim, AUS, 6:44:04

MEN STOCK

1. Lachie Lansdown, 28, Noosa Heads, AUS, 5:09:45
2. Brayden Casamento, 23, Maroochydore, AUS, 5:13:21 
3. Harrison Stone, 26, Balgowlah, AUS, 5:24:13

WOMEN STOCK

1. Katrina Madill, 33, Greerton, NZ, 6:24:13
2. Liz Hunter, 37, Imperial Beach, USA,  6:48:20
3. Allison Schillinger, 26, Honolulu, 7:02:18

SUP RESULTS

A new face to M2O won the men’s Unlimited SUP race. Itzel Delgado, 25, from Lima, Peru, completed his first experience crossing the Moloka’i Channel in a time of 5:27:08.

Brazil’s André Rosa, 44, crossed the finish in second (5:54:00) ahead of 51-year-old James Martindale from Honolulu (6:22:24).

The Stock SUP category was won by Robert Stehlik, 56, from Hawaiʻi (5:55;30). Stehlik was followed by Shota Kurima, 38, from Japan who claimed second in a time of 6:02:41.

Roland Graham, 56, from Aiea, Hawaiʻi finished third in a time of 6:23:52.

MEN UNLIMITED

1. Itzel Delgado, 25, Lima, Peru, 5:27:08
2. André Rosa, 45, Rio de Janeiro, BRA, 5:54:00
3. James Martindale, 51, Honolulu, 6:22:24

MEN STOCK

1. Robert Stehlik, 56, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 5:55:30
2. Shota Kurima, 38, Urasoe, Japan, 6:02:41
3. Roland Graham, 56, Aiea, Hawaiʻi, 6:23:52

M2O is proudly 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.

About the Molokaʻi 2 Oʻahu Paddleboard World Championships

Founded in 1997, M2O 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 (SUP), and foil (SUP and Wing). In 2018, a hydrofoil division was added to welcome the evolution in technology of the SUP sport. Connecting the islands of Molokaʻi and Oʻahu, the race crosses the Kaiwi 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 a deeply personal experience, challenging every paddler’s physical and mental endurance.