Official start list announced for open-ocean challenge, featuring athletes from 20 countries. New video released profiling champion paddleboarders’ perspectives of legendary race.
America's Cup skipper Jimmy Spithill
Honolulu, HI (April 29, 2014) – After winning his second America’s Cup last year in dramatic fashion, Jimmy Spithill is set to compete in his second Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O), presented by Kona Longboard Island Lager. Spithill joins an international field of athletes from 20 countries who will take on the open-ocean challenge of crossing the Moloka’i Channel on prone (traditional) and stand up paddleboards (SUP) on Sunday, July 27, 2014. The official start list of athletes is now available online at Molokai2Oahu.com.
“I’m honored to be a part of the announcement of the official start list for this year’s race, which includes the best watermen and paddleboarders in the world,” said Spithill. “This year I’m hoping to give more time in training for the crossing. Last year was exciting, but also a complete blur. I flew into Moloka’i late the night before the race and had to be back in San Francisco the next day for training with Oracle Team USA. If it wasn’t for Kai Lenny and his family helping with logistics, I’m not sure it would have happened. I really want to enjoy and experience all that the race and Hawai’i has to offer, it’s an amazing piece of water. I plan to get to Maui before the race and catch up with all the great friends I made following our visit after the America’s Cup. It’s going to be another awesome challenge, with some of the best athletes in the world – I can’t wait.”
Having sold out for seven consecutive years, the 2014 event sold out in 48 hours after online registration opened – the fastest registration pace in its 18-year history.
Combined with M2O’s reputation as the ultimate paddleboarding challenge and the increasing global popularity of paddleboarding, most recently in SUP, an event best was established this year for corporate partnerships. Returning sponsors include presenter Kona Longboard Island Lager, Dukes, Maui Jim, Hawai’i Tourism Authority, Garmin, GoPro, Patagonia, Watermen’s Applied Science, Futures, Ocean Paddler and Dr. Danger. New to M2O this year are Surftech, Kona Red, and Oberto.
“The Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championship is an amazing race that draws elite athletes from around the world to Hawai’i every year, allowing us to share the beauty and culture of the islands with the competitors, their families and the international media,” said Michael Story of the Hawai’i Tourism Authority. “We are thrilled to be a part of this year’s race and look forward to showcasing all that the islands have to offer.”
A new video is now available on YouTube profiling champion paddleboarders’ perspectives of legendary race.
For information and updates visit Molokai2Oahu.com or find the race on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram.
About the Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, presented by Kona Longboard Island Lager
The 18th edition of the Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O), presented by Kona Longboard Island Lager, is set for Sunday, July 27, 2014. Founded in 1997, M2O has grown from a grassroots challenge for the legendary lifeguards and watermen of O’ahu to the premiere event for the sport of paddleboarding, annually crowning world champions in the two disciplines of prone (traditional) and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). Connecting the islands of Moloka’i and O’ahu, the 32-mile race crosses the Ka’iwi Channel, also known as the Moloka’i Channel. Men and women from more than 20 countries will face strong currents as they navigate the fastest downwind route over one of the deepest channels in the world. Top athletes can complete the crossing in less than five hours, riding mid-channel waves that can crest more than 12 feet and carry paddlers hundreds of meters at a time. M2O starts on Kaluakoi Beach on the north shore of Molokai and finishes in Maunalua Bay on the south shore of Oahu. The annual race is a deeply personal experience, challenging every paddler’s physical and mental endurance. Every finisher experiences an individual championship.
