This page is a summary of our most recent posts about Michael Booth

ISA Worlds distance race: 19-year-old Duna Gordillo and 16-year-old “Shrimpy” claim incredible wins to herald the new generation

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

 
In brief: Spain’s Duna Gordillo has upset her teammate Espe Barreras while 16-year-old Shuri “Shrimpy” Araki from Japan overpowered Titou and Boothy to win gold in the ISA distance race in Puerto Rico today.

Duna crossed the line in utter disbelief before being mobbed by her teammates, producing some of the most iconic images of the event and symbolising a changing of the guard as the “new wave” of young talent starts to take over the sport.

Duna photo credit: @pablofrancostudio / race photo credits: @waterworkmedia

The biggest race you’ve never heard of is happening in Australia tomorrow.

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

The biggest stand up paddle race you’ve (probably) never heard of is happening in Australia tomorrow (Monday, 27 January). The ‘Iron X’ event on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is an invite-only, multi-discipline paddle race featuring the likes of world number one Michael Booth, 2018 #1 Lincoln Dews, James Casey, Jackson Maynard, Jordan Mercer and several of Australia’s top lifeguarding athletes.

And with a prize purse of $100,000 it’s also one of the richest events in the history of SUP.   → READ MORE

FourTwentySix: Who are the most consistent paddlers? 🤔 (aka the “B-Team World Rankings”)

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Welcome back to the ‘FourTwentySix,’ the oddly-named new column on SUP Racer that aims to find the “stories behind the stats” by performing deep analysis of the world rankings database.

One of the main goals of the SUP Racer World Rankings is to find the world’s number one paddler. It’s a complex system that uses a lot of algorithms and a lot of results from around the world. There are currently 6000+ paddlers and 100+ events in the system, but underpinning the entire leaderboard is a simple idea: That a paddler’s “Best 5” results of the year will determine their total world ranking points.

But the “Best 5” method only tells part of the story…   → READ MORE

MICHAEL BOOTH, SONNI HONSCHEID WIN HISTORIC GOLD AT ICF WORLDS IN CHINA

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

In brief: Aussie powerhouse Michael Booth has proven yet again he’s the strongest distance paddler on the planet by claiming an historic gold medal on day one of the ICF Worlds in China. Boothy was just a little too good for Bruno and Daniel Hasulyo who stuck with the world champ right until the final kilometre before settling for silver and bronze.

The women’s marathon became a two-horse race after Sonni Honschei and Olivia Piana broke free from Fiona Wylde and Susak Molinero after the first of three 6km laps. Sonni showed why she’s considered the strongest woman on the water by leading for almost the entire second half of the race before powering clear to win by a minute.   → READ MORE

Jetset Superstars: Boothy, Fiona win the ICF SUP World Cup after landing in Germany same day

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

In brief: Michael Booth and Fiona Wylde have claimed the prestigious ICF SUP World Cup in Germany in extraordinary circumstances.

The Starboard superstars only arrived in Germany Sunday morning after jetsetting in from New York where they’d been competing at the APP money tour event, yet they overcame the jetlag to salute against one of the toughest fields assembled all season.    → READ MORE

“Pretty bummed,” defending champ Travis Grant is injured and OUT of Molokai

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Defending champion and four-time winner Travis Grant has withdrawn from this year’s Molokai-2-Oahu race through injury, throwing the door wide open for what is surely the most prestigious title in our sport.

Travis, the 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018 Molokai champ and many tipsters’ favourite to claim a record fifth crown next week, injured his ribs while steering a six-man outrigger canoe in the 4th of July race at Waikiki. The ever-humble Aussie gave himself time to recover but the injury wasn’t improving, telling me on Messenger this afternoon that “I can barely even paddle right now, let alone race a distance like that.”   → READ MORE

Boothy and Fiona make it a clean sweep of the Greek Islands

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Fiona Wylde and Michael Booth have made it a clean sweep of the Greek Islands for team Starboard, claiming today’s “Agios Nikolaos on SUP” event after conquering some of the gnarliest conditions we’ve seen all season. This follows on from their big wins on Corfu last week. ⁣⁣⁣
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Today’s 14km race on the island of Crete had a bit of everything, from downwind to flat to one or two brutal kms of crazy headwind. The winners both went hard early but earned their big leads in different parts of the course: Boothy shut the door on the chase pack of Vinni Martins, Martin Vitry, Ty Judson, Arthur Arutkin, Noic Garioud and Enzo Bennett in the grueling upwinder, whereas Fiona setup her victory early on during the smoother downwind section. ⁣⁣⁣   → READ MORE

Team Starboard reigns supreme: Masterclass from Michael Booth, Fiona Wylde in the Greek Islands

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Team Starboard super duo Michael Booth and Fiona Wylde have claimed this week’s EuroTour race with emphatic victories against both a strong field and a draining hot sun in the Greek Islands.

Boothy claimed the ‘Corfu Emerald Cup’ to bounce back from his big mistake at last week’s battle of Bilbao and put an exclamation mark on his status as the world’s strongest paddler, while Fiona was a little too strong for Italian wildcard and rising star Caterina Stenta.   → READ MORE

Titouan Puyo and Fiona Wylde won the French downwinder in Vendée

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Titouan Puyo and Fiona Wylde have surfed their way to victory in week 3 of the EuroTour, claiming the Vendée Gliss Event on France’s west coast.

Titou out-surfed fellow Frenchman Arthur Arutkin and week 2 winner Michael Booth to even the score with the Aussie powerhouse at one European win apiece.

Meanwhile, Hood River hero Fiona Wylde felt right at home in the bumps, coasting clear to defeat Sunova’s Amandine Chazot and Maui wunderkind Annie Reickert en route to her second French win in seven days.   → READ MORE

Azur Paddle Days: Fiona Wylde, Michael Booth claim victory in France

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Starboard superstars Michael Booth and Fiona Wylde have started their summer seasons in style, saluting at the “Azur Paddle Days” EuroTour event in Villefranche, France this afternoon.

Boothy edged out regular sparring partner Titouan Puyo by about 10 seconds after an hour of paddling, while Titou’s team-mate from NSP, Ty Judson, was close behind in third. Martin Vitry took top honours for the home team in fourth, while Carolina runner-up Bruno Hasulyo had to settle for fifth in a sign of how tough the summer clashes are going to be.   → READ MORE

Analysis: Are the Aussies still unbeatable?

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

Today, Team Australia’s lineup for the ISA Worlds in China (Nov 23 – Dec 2) was revealed. The five-time champions always start favourites for the overall teams title, however 2018 could be their toughest challenge since the U.S. Dream Team briefly stole their crown in 2015, with the French looking particularly strong.

Here’s some light analysis of the squad.   → READ MORE

TITLE FIGHT: “Lincoln vs Boothy” in the battle for The Paddle League World Title @ the PPGs

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

As if the biggest weekend of the year needed any additional spice, we’ve now got a little extra sizzle courtesy of The Paddle League.

After a season that officially began in Tahiti six months ago to the day, the battle for the inaugural Paddle League Men’s World Title will be decided by two Aussie athletes and one big weekend of racing in Southern California.

The Pacific Paddle Games presented by Salt Life is the setting for the “title fight” between current ratings leader Michael Booth and his compatriot Lincoln Dews (ranked #2 in the world). And the equation is fairly simple: If Lincoln wins the PPGs and Boothy misses the podium, David will snatch the crown from Goliath at the final race of the season.   → READ MORE

Seychelle, Boothy win the Battle of the Bay in San Francisco

posted by Christopher Parker, former Boss Man

In brief: Aussie powerhouse Michael Booth has flexed his muscles to win the annual race around the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco today. The current world number one paddled clear of the small but highly elite field to claim the win the 2018 Battle of the Bay a minute ahead of his highly under-rated compatriot Ty Judson (Team NSP).

The women’s contest was a lot closer, with Seychelle being pushed all the way to the line by young SIC team mate Jade Howson, while Fiona Wylde rounded out the podium in this 4-star Paddle League regional event.

More to come on Monday morning… For now you can get full results over on The Paddle League.