Noa Ginella Upsets Whitewater Pros in SUP Sprint Race
VAIL, CO - River and ocean lifestyles melded high in the Colorado mountains on June 7th during the inaugural Eddie Bauer/First Ascent Stand Up Paddle Sprint event at the Teva Mountain Games.
The historic event was won by 16-year-old rising SUP star Noa Ginella from the North Shore of Oahu who, until this week, had never before paddled in whitewater - let alone ever been to Colorado. Ginella arrived here earlier this week with an all-star cast of big-wave ocean surfers to compete in an event dubbed the Olympics of mountain sports.
Whitewater insiders predicted the race would be a repeat of the on-water rivalry between the two leading whitewater paddlers, Dan Gavere (Hood River, OR) and Charlie MacArthur (Aspen, CO), who just earlier in the week finished first and second at the second annual Stand Up Paddle Whitewater Championships (Glenwood Springs, CO).
Slipping through unnoticed, Ginella himself was surprised when he found out he had bested the favorite, Gavere, by 16.7 seconds, finishing the three-mile course in 18:15:53.
With snow still capping the mountains, Gore Creek was running so hard (about 1200 cubic feet per second when the race kicked off at 10 a.m.) that authorities issued a high flow warning, making Ginella's defeat of river SUP pioneers Gavere and MacArthur even more stunning.
Ginella attributed his victory to deep, easy strokes recommended to him by his mentor and teammate, legendary waterman Brian Keauluna. Keaulana is co-founder of C4 Waterman an innovator and manufacturer of SUP boards and paddles. The company is presenting sponsor of the SUP sprint and inaugural SUP surfcross events at the Teva Mountain Games.
In a training run, where he found himself neck and neck with another mentor - teammate and surfing icon Archie Kalepa - Ginella said he noticed the deep easy strokes helped him keep on pace, yet conserve energy against Kalepa who is renowned for his super powerful, fast strokes.
Someone who wasn't surprised by Ginella's win was Todd Bradley, co-founder of C4 Waterman. "Noa's an amazing athlete. Anytime we've put him in a competitive situation, he excels," Bradley said.
A total of 40 competitors - 6 women and 34 men - competed in this first-ever SUP sprint.
Press release courtesy of Jodi Wilmott/Ocean Promotion.
Photos courtesy of Chase Oliviere/c4waterman.com.
