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BELMAR — After almost six years of preparation, Mark Spagnuolo, 38, a former Belmar lifeguard, captured third place in his age group at the 2023 Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, which were held on July 30 for the time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The worldwide championship event, held on the island of Molokai in Hawaii, bills itself as “the world’s most challenging paddleboard race,” one that calls for athletes across the globe to “soak in the traditions of paddleboarding in Hawaii with the thrill of conquering the unconquerable.”
Out of 163 participants competing in the approximately 32-mile course, Mr. Spagnuolo placed in third of the 30-39 age group in his division, Solo Unlimited Prone, and 128th overall with a time of seven hours, 21 minutes and 49 seconds.
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Mr. Spagnuolo, who was a lifeguard at Belmar beaches from 2007 until 2017 and is also the owner of Hoagitos in Belmar Plaza, told The Coast Star that he was first introduced to the sport when he began competing in lifeguarding tournaments.
In 2012, he saw his friend and fellow lifeguard Ryan Matthews start to get into distance paddling, taking up local races such as the SEA Paddle NYC, a 26-mile charity paddleboard race around Manhattan, and even going on to compete in the 2013 world championships in Molokai.
“Watching him do that, I kind of was like, you know, the Sea Paddle seems like something I could do, a really good challenge and something fun to do to challenge myself,” Mr. Spagnuolo said.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
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