The Paddling Elite Throwdown In Front Of A Record Breaking Crowd At OluKai's 8th Annual Hoʻolauleʻa

- Over 500 athletes arrive in Maui, making this three-day ocean festival the leading international downwind paddling competition

- Festival hosted a crowd of over 1500, who enjoyed live music from The Green and cultural activities

News provided by

OluKai

May 03, 2016, 02:00 ET

KAHULUI, Hawaii, May 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 8th annual OluKai Hoʻolauleʻa, a three-day ocean festival that takes place on the coast of Maui wrapped up last night, capping off a jam packed weekend that recognized this year's winning performances in the leading international downwind paddling competition. The races hosted participants from all over the globe including the sports leading elite SUP and OC1 competitors.

A record crowd of more than 515 paddlers took to the ocean representing over 18 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, French Polynesia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Spain, United Kingdom and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Around 1500 people turned up to cheer on the competitors, enjoy Hawaiian games and cultural activities, and listen to award winning reggae band, The Green, play an impromptu hour-long acoustic set. While OluKai's Hoʻolauleʻa is one of the world's premier ocean paddling races, the event also honors the Hawaiian culture and ocean lifestyle.

Ocean conditions on the Maliko Downwind Run on Maui's North Shore were perfect the entire weekend with consistent 20 knot winds that produced what is being hailed as the 'most epic conditions ever for this race.'

The Elite Men's SUP division was dominated by 22 year-old Maui paddler, Connor Baxter, who clocked 47:41 with a 5:58 mile average for his fifth consecutive win. The Men's OC1 was won by Australia's Travis Grant, for the first time, with an impressive 48:06 finish among an elite field of competitors.

The women's divisions both provided new champions this year. In the Women's SUP, Sonni Hönscheid, hailing from Germany, who has competed in this race four times, even placing second last year, took home the championship title with a time of 57:12. Maui local Lauren Spalding claimed the win in the OC1 event with a time of 53:25. Spalding has competed in this event three times to date and has won each time.

The OluKai Hoʻolauleʻa continued yesterday for over 100 OluKai ʻOhana who participated in a 'Giveback Day' lending a hand to Maui Cultural Lands, a grassroots land trust organization, as part of Ama OluKai Foundation's mission in Hawaii.

OluKai Hoʻolauleʻa will be filmed in HD and broadcast internationally courtesy of OluKai media partner, Ocean Paddler TV.

Full race results from the weekend are available here. Imagery and short videos available here.

For more information visit https://www.olukai.com/hoolaulea.html or check out @OluKai #OluKaiRace.

2016 OluKai Ho'olaule'a SUP Race Results
Saturday, April 30, 2016

*Elite Men*

Place	Name	From	Time	Pace/Mile
1	Connor Baxter	Maui, Hawaii	47:41	5:58
2	Mo Freitas	Oahu, Hawaii	49:14	6:10
3	Matt Nottage	Australia	49:41	6:13
4	Travis Grant	Australia	49:53	6:15
5	James Casey	Australia	50:08	6:16
6	David Kalama	Maui, Hawaii	50:17	6:18

*Elite Women*

Place	Name	From	Time	Pace/Mile
1	Sonni Hönscheid	Germany	57:12	7:10
2	Kathy Shipman	Maui, Hawaii	57:49	7:14
3	Terrene Black	Australia	1:00:01	7:31
4	Devin Blish	Maui, Hawaii	1:00:30	7:34
5	Amy Woodward	Oahu, Hawaii	1:00:38	7:35
6	Taila Decoite	Maui, Hawaii	1:01:38	7:43

2016 OluKai Ho'olaule'a OC1 Race Results
Sunday, May 1, 2016

*Elite Men*

Place	Name	From	Time
1	Travis Grant	Australia	48:06
2	Jimmy Austin	Oahu, Hawaii	48:53
3	Keakua Kaawa-Nolan	Hawaii Island, Hawaii	49:11
4	Rete Ebb	Tahiti	49:21
5	Manny Kulukulualani	Oahu, Hawaii	49:24
6	Matt Nottage	Australia	49:31

*Elite Women*

Place	Name	From	Time
1	Lauren Spadling	Maui, Hawaii	53:25
2	Amy Woodward	Maui, Hawaii	56:13
3	Dane Ward	Maui, Hawaii	58:56
4	Fiona Van Ammers	Maui, Hawaii	59:08
5	Angie Dolan	Oahu, Hawaii	1:01:00
6	Shannon Cuadro	Maui, Hawaii	1:04:07

About OluKai:

OluKai is a sought after lifestyle brand that believes everyone, no matter where they are, can live Aloha. OluKai products feature thoughtful design elements and handcrafted details inspired by the ocean lifestyle. We are committed to partnering with best-of-class retailers with whom we share an unwavering pursuit of excellence. OluKai's spirit is shared by others through the Ama OluKai Foundation, a 501(c)(3) created to formalize the company's giveback initiatives. Every OluKai sold supports Ama OluKai Foundation's mission in Hawaii. For more information visit www.OluKai.com or #AnywhereAloha.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Cynthia Patnode: [email protected]
Brody Gordon: [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/363041

SOURCE OluKai