Annabel Anderson (R) of New Zealand – Contributed photo
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA, USA – Healing from surgery in late-March and a concussion sustained earlier in the year, five-time Carolina Cup elite champion Annabel Anderson of New Zealand remains on hiatus.
In a check-up interview with North Carolina Press Release, Anderson provides an update on her recovery and reveals an in-depth analysis including her predictions for 2018’s grueling 13-mile Graveyard Race.
Anderson’s outlook for both the men and women elite races is uniquely meaningful, based on her empirical knowledge of the Graveyard course plus considerable experience on the course with the world’s top-ranked male and female paddlers.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest athletes of all time in the sport, Anderson won two gold medals in the recent ISA World Standup Paddleboard Championships; is the reigning World SUP Tour Salt Life Champion; Champion of the Pacific Paddle Games; and ranked overall number-one in the world, the only female to achieve this recognition.
The 8th annual Quiksilver Waterman Carolina Cup will draw thousands of spectators and more than 1,000 event participants. Races, clinics, expos, entertainment, and festivities will be in Wrightsville Beach, April 18-22, 2018. All races will begin and end at Blockade Runner Beach Resort, the official resort of the Carolina Cup.
“The Graveyard course is the most punishing single-day race on the international calendar every year,” said Anderson. “It is technically demanding, tactically difficult, and physically punishing, the true test of the complete paddler.”
The Graveyard Race starting line – Photo by Laura Glantz
Click for text of Robert Butler’s interview with Annabel Anderson
About the Carolina Cup:
- Returning races on the 2018 schedule include:
- The Graveyard, a grueling 13.2-mile ocean and flatwater race for the elite and professional paddleboard racers;
- The Money Island Open, a 6.5-mile flatwater race designed for the intermediate to advanced paddler;
- The Harbor Island Recreational, a 3.5-mile flatwater race for first-time to intermediate paddleboarders;
- The popular Kids Race for children 7 to 14.
New to the race schedule in 2018:
- The Longboat Graveyard, a 13.2-mile race exclusively for Elite OC-1, OC-2, Surfski and Double-Ski.
Organized by the Wrightsville Beach Paddle Club, affiliated with the newly formed Paddle League, and sanctioned by the World Paddle Association (WPA), the Cup will attract paddlers from over 20 countries and virtually every state in the nation. Competitors include Olympians, world-record holders, champions, professionals, amateurs, and first-time paddlers. The Carolina Cup is the first race of 2018 on the WPA World SUP Tour, and the second major race of the season on the Paddle League World Tour.
Race information and registration
Contact:
Mark Schmidt
Race Director
Wrightsville Beach Paddle Club
P: 910-620-1835
E: Mark@WrightsvilleBeachPaddleClub.com
Robert B. Butler
North Carolina Press Release
www.NCPressRelease.org
www.RBButler.com
Permission granted for redistribution
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