Hawaiian Canoe Club takes third at world championships
The Maui News
A crew from Hawaiian Canoe Club placed third at the IVF Va’a World Distance Championships, held Aug. 10-17 in Mooloolaba, Australia.
Rose Delaney, Kalia Purdy, Skyla Adriano-Howard, Skyler Sands, Nohealani Ledesma and Olivia Delaney finished the 18-mile iron race in a time of 2 hours, 36 minutes, 24 seconds to finish on the podium for the junior women division.
New Zealand won in 2:27:09, and Tahiti took second in 2:29:02.
Hawaiian qualified for the prestigious race by winning the Queen Liliuokalani race last year in Kailua-Kona.
“(The) girls did great!” coach Paul Luuwai said via email. “It was about 55-60 degrees at race time. Kind of cold for Hawaii girls.”
Next up is the Hawaiian Airlines Na Wahine O Ke Kai, where the HCC crew will defend its junior title. The 41st edition of the annual 41-mile race across the Kaiwi Channel is set for Sept. 22.