| Clean sweep for England in Paddleboard Distance Races
Entering this year’s event without a single WSUPPC Gold Medal to their name, Team England has so far notched three. Molly Roodhouse (ENG) won her first World Title after a photo finish with two World Champions, Yurika Horibe (JPN) and Judit Verges (ESP), in the women’s Paddleboard Distance Race, before Andrew Byatt (ENG) made it a clean sweep for England in the division, winning his second Gold Medal of the event. It was the dream scenario for Team England, and Roodhouse, who regularly trains together with Byatt.
“For Andy (Byatt) to win that first gold medal for England was really inspirational,” Roodhouse said. “He’s been such a big inspiration and great motivator. I knew it was gonna be a tough race. And it was, it was so tight. It’s an amazing achievement, especially for me, coming from an inland city. Paddling wasn’t even on the radar for me five years ago and now world champ, it’s pretty unreal.”
It was one of the tightest finishes in the history of the women’s Paddleboard Distance Race, certainly the closest since 2018. Roodhouse, Horibe, Verges and Cornelia Rigatti(ITA) broke into an early front pack, a position which they continually strengthened. Rigatti slowly lost ground, while the three leaders never gave each other an inch. The photo finish went the way of 24-year-old Roodhouse, while Horibe, the back-to-back defending champion, was dead even with Verges, 0.8 seconds behind.
Byatt was genuinely surprised to take the win in his race. Despite winning the Silver Medal in 2023, the 44-year-old had expected his younger competitors to outpace him. But, with his family present, the Englishman beat out a hard charging David Buil (ESP), his first-ever victory over the Spanish defending champion, who won the Silver Medal. Internationally renowned sports photographer Donald Miralle (USA) improved upon last year’s Copper Medal to win the Bronze, while Oisin McGrath (IRL) backed up his Technical Race Copper Medal with the same in the Distance. |
