May 5, 2018
by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

Sonni Honscheid and Aussie dark horse Ty Judson have won the Bluesmiths ‘Paddle Imua’ charity downwinder on Maui


https://www.instagram.com/p/Bidd3vKAYKJ/

In brief: Sonni Honscheid has continued her unbeaten run in Season 2018 by claiming the 2-star Bluesmiths Paddle Imua charity downwinder on Maui this weekend, claiming her second win on the Maliko run in the space of six days and further cementing her status as the woman to beat on The Paddle League.

With Maui’s signature winds going virtually silent for the second week in a row, the famed Maliko downwind run once again turned into an 8-mile grind to produce finishing times well outside the race records.

Sonni was six minutes clear of future champion Annie Reickert, while the smiling assassin from Japan, Yuka Sato, picked up another podium before flying back home for next weekend’s Kerama Blue Cup World Tour stop on the island of Zamami.

Is anyone going to catch Sonni this season? The German powerhouse seems to be in career-best form right now, which is a frightening prospect given the career she’s already had. The other top women will get another shot next week in Japan, however considering nobody has gotten within five minutes of Sonni in 2018, the odds are already stacked against them.

In the men’s event, Ty Judson got a well-deserved win after a similarly-impressive effort in the 6-star OluKai Ho’olaule’a six days prior. This guy has been in form all season, with some solid results at home and a great cameo at the Carolina Cup before almost finishing runner-up in the big one last week. Definitely a name to watch.

Ty was only narrowly ahead of another highly under-rated athlete in Josh Riccio, who almost stole the show on his 14 footer after the unlimiteds lost much of their advantage in the light conditions.

In fact, Ty and Sonni were the only unlimiteds in the top three after much of the field opted for stock boards. That included Ryan Funk in third, while Kody Kerbox came home fourth on his big board. Bernd Roediger – seen praying to the rain gods for his signature bumps prior to the race – rounded out the top five.

But the real story of this event isn’t on the results sheet, it’s in the name even’ts name.

Paddle Imua is a charity downwinder that supports Camp Imua, a Maui-based organisation that hosts camps for disabled kids and their families. It’s a great cause and a charity close to the hearts of the local paddling community–if you want to contribute you can head over to paddleimua.com and donate.

Thanks to Bluesmiths and the organising crew for making the race possible, and well done to everyone that got out on the water. Plenty more shots over on the Bluesmiths, Paddle Imua, Black Project and Stand Up Magazin instas.

 


 

#AthleteTimePointsBoard
1Sonni Honschied1:31:4320.00Unlimited
2Annie Reickert1:37:1915.0014'
3Yuka Sato1:38:0612.0014'
4Devin Blish1:42:4410.00Unlimited
5Laura Claydon1:50:588.5014'
6Andrea Moller1:53:347.00Unlimited
7Shanna Upton1:57:396.0014'
8Hannah Hill1:59:355.0014'
9Louanne Harris2:13:034.5014'
10Sharon Baldwin2:17:074.00Unlimited
11Sarah Westbrook2:17:513.6014'
12Nadia Sydney Murrell2:19:123.2014'
13Elizabeth Campos2:19:533.0014'
14Brook Starr2:20:532.80Unlimited
15Sharon Look2:22:052.60Unlimited
16Shantelle Pierce2:22:242.40Unlimited
17Sharlene Griffen2:28:512.2014'
18Kathleen Hagan2:31:222.0014'
19Heidi Sarkozy2:50:531.8014'
20Ina Tagaloa2:51:071.6014'
21Margaret King2:53:351.50Unlimited

 

#AthleteTimePointsBoard
1Ty Judson1:22:0220.00Unlimited
2Josh Riccio1:22:4115.0014'
3Ryan Funk1:27:0912.0014'
4Kody Kerbox1:29:0810.00Unlimited
5Bernd Roediger1:29:328.5014'
6Nathan Cross1:31:237.00Unlimited
7Ralf Sifford1:38:196.00Unlimited
8Mark Raaphorst1:41:445.00Unlimited
9John Hadley1:42:434.5014'
10Alex Matero1:43:504.00Unlimited
11Neil Turpin1:47:013.6014'
12Hans Wannemacher1:49:213.2014'
13Kyle Ellison1:49:463.0014'
14Alex Mawae1:50:132.8014'
15John Walsh1:52:192.6012'6
16Shane Murrell1:53:342.4014'
17Jp Mihlbauer1:54:042.2014'
18Kieran O'Riordan1:54:142.0014'
19Orey Masserman1:55:281.80Unlimited
20Tim Yates1:56:281.60Unlimited
21Kelso Offenbaker1:57:251.5014'
22Michael Johnson1:58:461.4014'
23Sharn Mentz1:59:431.30Unlimited
24John Zevenbergen2:00:131.20Unlimited
25Ron St. John2:02:531.1014'
26Andrew Dunber2:05:041.04Unlimited
27Zoltan Bazso2:05:280.9814'
28Samuel Shnider2:06:530.9214'
29Gregory Harbottle2:08:040.86Unlimited
30Chris Freeman2:09:250.8014'
31Gary Candido2:10:110.76Unlimited
32Searay Beltran2:12:520.7212'6
33Donnie Mcgean2:15:030.6814'
34Ernst Disse2:15:200.6414'
35Johnny Kahakaloa2:16:400.6012'6
36Mike Jucker2:18:450.5614'
37Tom Burke2:20:370.5214'
38Karl Wannemacher2:21:130.4814'
39Mickey Stove2:25:020.4414'
40James Williams2:25:100.4014'
41Ben Williams2:28:260.38Unlimited
42Dave Wess2:30:540.36Unlimited
43Anderson Gallagher2:31:200.3412'6
44Douglas Hagan2:31:240.3214'
45Ty Simpson-Kane2:36:010.3012'6
46Fred Mayo2:36:130.2812'6
47Paul Williams2:38:310.26Unlimited
48Taito Barraek2:44:460.2414'
49Rino Englehart2:50:130.22Unlimited