Kailua-Kona resident Keakua Kaawa Nolan narrowly edged Honolulu’s Kaihe Chong by one second to win the Men’s OC-1 Elite title at the OluKai Hoolaulea on Sunday at Kanaha Beach Park on Maui.
Kailua-Kona resident Keakua Kaawa Nolan narrowly edged Honolulu’s Kaihe Chong by one second to win the Men’s OC-1 Elite title at the OluKai Hoolaulea on Sunday at Kanaha Beach Park on Maui.
Nolan took home the title, and the $1,500 prize money, with a time of 46 minutes and 55 seconds. After Chong, local paddlers Daniel Chun and Kainoa Tanoai followed closely behind, taking third and fourth place, respectively.
The event also featured a highly competitive standup paddleboard race.
Connor Baxter finished in first place in the men’s division for the second year in a row, outpacing second place Travis Grant by more than two minutes. Jeremy Rigs finished third to round out the podium.
On the women’s SUP side, Andrea Moller won for an unrivaled sixth consecutive time, followed by Sonni Honscheild in second and Talia Gangini Decoite in third.
Lauren Spalding won the OC-1 women’s elite race, finishing 38 seconds better than Moller.
More than 400 racers from nine countries and throughout the United States traveled to compete in the daunting Maliko Downwind run — spanning 8 miles of open ocean — with an equal-gender prize purse of $15,000.
“Anytime that an event gives equal recognition to both men and women, it makes the sport grow bigger,” Moller said. “What OluKai does with the Hoolaulea really helps the sport worldwide.”
OluKai’s Hoolaulea, now in its sixth year, honors the ocean and the cultures that surround it, blending elite competition with family-friendly and traditional cultural activities.