The 6th Mexican National SUP Championship was held on the 17th and 18th March in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and was part of the qualifiers for the ISA Worlds  which will be held in Brazil later this year. The athletes were kept busy with an 18 KM long distance, technical and sprint race plus the surf sup contest.
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Prodigious talent Erika Benitez had a stand out performance, ending up with a clean sweep and in doing so booked her place on the plane for the ISA Worlds in Brazil later this year. Erika won the sprint race, the technical race and the long Distance Race, an impressive show! Showing her high level of dedication and perseverance in her training despite the pressure of being in the final year of high school. Erika told TotalSUP that she was super stoked about her performance, and that it “was awesome to be there for the Nationals”.
“She has been training hard for the National championships, but it has been a little difficult for her due to school and her last year of high school” said Erik Benitez, Erika’s Dad
Erika looked sharp, and looks to be gaining more and more experience, with a lot still to learn, and youth on her side she is destined for a great paddle career!
Erika will be training hard for the ISA’s in Brazil later this year, and will be focusing on performing as well as she can. We might also be able to see Erika in action at the Carolina Cup and Hood river.
The Championship also saw the return of Fernando Stalla after an absence of two years.  Fernando showed a stand out performance and powered home to take 1st place with Fernando Amaral taking 2nd place in the long distance, whilst Jose Manuel Rodriguez from SUP Team Nayarit posted 1st in the sprints and in the technical race sprints. The future is bright for Mexican SUP!
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TotalSUP will Facebook-livestream the 2022 Carolina Cup, good old-schoold style (ie with a mobile phone) and the commentaries from the boat of our friends Kristin Thomas and Dave Boehne. Make sure to tune in before the race starts at 9.40 am local time (UTC -4). >> Head to www.facebook.com/totalsupofficial !!! << World times: Saturday April […]
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