Distance Race Dominance Defines Day 4 at ISA Worlds

Surf City El Salvador – Day four of the 2025 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC), saw the distance races completed in the stunning setting of Surf City El Salvador. Though the wind stayed low for the four races to take place throughout the afternoon, a slight bump to the three-to-four-foot swell challenged racers in the SUP and Prone divisions, with the waves of El Sunzal playing a large part in the results.

A clean sweep in the women’s divisions saw Spain take the lead in the team rankings, ahead of France, who moved into second place, while Japan and Brazil held onto third and fourth, respectively.

Today, Shuri Araki (JPN) officially set himself apart as the greatest SUP racer in ISA history. Having matched the existing record of five gold medals yesterday, the 19-year-old added his sixth today, remaining undefeated in both the SUP Distance and Technical Races. Araki is one of only two competitors to win both races at the same event, and he has now achieved that feat an incredible three times. The one title that has eluded him, however, is the Sprint, and he now has his sights set on yet another record as he looks to achieve that goal tomorrow.

“I’m very happy to get my second gold medal [this event],” Araki said. “It’s very difficult to get three gold medals, I know that it’s not easy. It’s a big challenge for me, but I want to challenge this year.”

Shuri Araki, Team Japan. | Photo: ISA / Sean Evans

Araki led from the start, with Spanish teammates Aaron Sanchez (ESP) and Fernando Perez (ESP) close behind, before Ethan Bry (FRA) surged to move into third. By the end of the first lap, Araki was already well out in front, with Bry, Sanchez, and Perez still tight. On the third lap, Itzel Delgado (PER) powered through the field to move into third ahead of Arthur Arutkin (FRA) and Nicolò Ricco (ITA), who had advanced after the two Spaniards went down together on a wave. In the end, Ricco and Bry battled for silver, but the Frenchman held on, leaving Ricco with bronze and Delgado with copper.

After four silver medals and a disqualification, Judit Vergés (ESP) finally claimed victory in the Prone Distance Race. It was sweet redemption for the 31-year-old, who earned that disqualification the last time she raced in El Salvador in 2019. Having placed second in this year’s Prone Technical Race to Yurika Horibe (JPN) after winning it for three consecutive years, it was even more rewarding for her to take the win over Horibe, a two-time World Champion.

Judit Vergés, Team Spain. | Photo: ISA / Pablo Franco

“I feel really, really good,” Vergés said. “It’s so special for me because in the last championship here in El Salvador I lost the gold, I was disqualified. Coming back six years later and winning the long distance is so special. It was quite hard and really, really hot, but when we turned the buoy the surfing was really good for me. I enjoyed it a lot. I feel so happy, and seeing Duna [Gordillo] arriving also first was so special. We are a big team, like a family, so I’m really, really happy.”

From the very start, Vergés, Horibe, and Thais Delrieux (FRA) held a strong lead over the rest of the pack, with Vergés soon breaking away from the other two. By the end of the second lap, she had extended that lead, but a fortuitous wave allowed Horibe and Delrieux to close the gap, with the Frenchwoman gaining ground on Horibe in the process. In the end, however, Vergés won by more than 1 minute, 30 seconds, with Horibe taking silver, Delrieux bronze, and Lizette Perez (ITA) copper.

Duna Gordillo (ESP) backed up her 2022 gold medal in the women’s SUP Distance Race, claiming victory over long-time rival Mariecarmen Rivera (PUR) and teammate Alba Frey (ESP). It was the third-time for Gordillo to be crowned World Champion overall, the 22-year-old having won the Prone Technical Race in 2024. Rivera earned the silver medal for the second year in-a-row, with Frey, the 2024 SUP Sprint World Champion, taking bronze in her first appearance in the Distance Race.

“In 2022, in Puerto Rico, I stayed with two strong women, Mariecarmen [Rivera] and Alba [Frey], as well as [Esperanza Barreras],” Gordillo said. “It was a hard race, a little bit shorter, nine kilometers or ten. I stayed strong in these conditions with a little bit of downwind and big waves. I never have a strategy, but at the start I looked behind me to see if the two women were there, and then I thought I wasn’t going to watch anymore. I did my race, took the waves, and did it.”

Gordillo and Frey were the only two of the 21 women in the race to manage a clean start after a wave knocked the majority of the pack, including Rivera, off their feet. Despite starting from a long way back, the Puerto Rican quickly caught up. Gordillo established her lead during the second lap and held strong to finish over a minute ahead of Rivera and Frey, who battled closely for second and third. Two-time Junior SUP Technical Race World Champion Csillag Virág-Kocsis (HUN) finished a more distant fourth, earning her first medal in the women’s divisions, the copper.

Duna Gordillo (ESP) and Mariecarmen Rivera (PUR). | Photo: ISA / Pablo Jimenez

Mael Tissier (FRA) made it a clean sweep in the Prone divisions, claiming the Distance Race win today after taking the Technical Race yesterday. The 29-year-old lifesaver from Hossegor showed similar dominance, winning by a significant margin. Behind him, the battle was much tighter. 2023 Gold Medalist David Buil (ESP) held second for much of the race, ahead of Lukas Pohlman (USA). A big set on the second lap saw Pohlman lose his board to the El Sunzal rocks and allowed So Nomura (JPN) to jump past Buil. Nomura powered on to claim the silver medal, with Buil taking bronze and Andrea Rossi (ITA) earning the copper.

“I’m really happy because it was a difficult one,” Tissier said. “It was very hard because the temperature was not so good and the wind was weird. The conditions were very strange and changing all the time, so it was important to rest on the first leg and think about how to manage the second and the third and imagine what can happen during the race.”

The 2025 WSUPPC will continue with the men’s SUP Sprint Quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. CST, Friday, November 14, at El Sunzal.

Mael Tissier, Team France. | Photo: ISA / Pablo Jimenez

RESULTS

Women’s Prone Distance Race
Gold – Judit Verges (ESP)
Silver – Yurika Horibe (JPN)
Bronze – Thais Delrieux (FRA)
Copper – Lizette Perez (ITA)

Women’s SUP Distance Race
Gold – Duna Gordillo (ESP)
Silver – Mariecarmen Rivera (PUR)
Bronze – Alba Frey (ESP)
Copper – Csillag Virág-Kocsis (HUN)

Men’s Prone Distance Race
Gold – Mael Tissier (FRA)
Silver – So Nomura (JPN)
Bronze – David Buil (ESP)
Copper – Andrea Rossi (ITA)

Men’s SUP Distance Race
Gold – Shuri Araki (JPN)
Silver – Ethan Bry (FRA)
Bronze – Nicolò Ricco (ITA)
Copper – Itzel Delgado (PER)

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