Booth back in form, with the toughest race yet to come
- By Lauren Barley
It was nothing less than world class racing last weekend in San Francisco, with the best SUP paddlers battling at bay around some of the most picturesque iconic landmarks in the world.
Battle of the Bay is an annual event, taking place in San Francisco city every September. Both spectators and contenders say that it’s a race that’s underappreciated for just how captivating it really is.
This year marked the 7th annual event and saw a very competitive field lining up to take out the title, amongst them was Australian paddler, Michael Booth.
“I love racing in San Fransisco. This event is next to none, it’s one I really look forward to every single year,” said Booth.
Walking away with a close 2nd, Booth said it felt good to be back in the field and racing at his best again.
“San Fransisco is probably my favourite city in the world, so having the opportunity to race here every year is just incredible.
“Battle of the Bay is such a great event, the people are awesome and it’s always a buzz paddling around iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz”.
Having already been one of his busiest racing schedules to date, Booth said, “it definitely gets challenging towards the back end of the year to stay on the pulse”.
Michael was happy with his performance in Battle of the Bay and said he was “stoked to finish 2nd amongst a competitive field”.
“The competition was really tough this year, so it was great to be up the front and gain some confidence heading into Dana Point next week”.
With the biggest race of the year approaching, Michael is keen to see what he can do in the Pacific Paddle Games held this weekend.
The PPG is known as the “Super Bowl of SUP” and is a race that Booth hopes to add to his impressive list of first-place finishes.
There is no doubt that the pressure to remain up the front of the pack has increased. With SUP racing becoming more popular, the start line is too becoming more competitive than ever.
“The bar of competition is certainly continuing to raise”, said Booth.
Michael will race against fellow top competitors Conner Baxter and Casper Steinfath in the PPG held in Dana Point, California this weekend.
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