Richards' unconventional preparation leads to historic Molokai Challenge victory

A Return to the Kaiwi Channel

Danielle Richards had previously tackled the formidable Kaiwi Channel in 2017, competing on a board. That experience, however, was far from ideal, leading her to declare, “I’m never doing that again on the board.” Despite the challenging memory, a deep-seated ambition to complete the Molokai Challenge on a surfski persisted for eight years.

Shattering the Record Books

Her performance in the 2025 Molokai Challenge was truly extraordinary. The New Zealand powerhouse navigated the Channel in an astonishing 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 54 seconds, utterly demolishing the existing women’s record by nearly 14 minutes. Beyond her dominant win in the women's category, Richards also secured an impressive fifth place overall, finishing approximately 24 minutes behind the men’s champion, Pat Dolan. Reflecting on her inaugural surfski experience at Molokai, Richards expressed immense satisfaction, stating, “I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of the race. Time just went so fast.”

A Self-Imposed Challenge

Richards was one of only two women’s solo surfski paddlers in the event, alongside Shivani Goberdhan. Aware of the lean field, she even attempted to encourage more participants. With the absence of direct competition, Richards set her sights on a new, personal goal: to break the women’s race record, established in 2019 by Jordan Mercer. “Absolutely, 100%,” she affirmed with a laugh, “That was something I set out to do.”

Innovative Training Pays Off

Her preparation for the race was notably unconventional. Following a demanding season coaching at Omanu Beach Surf Club and competing at the Australian Surf Life Saving titles, Richards had a mere six weeks to train. Drawing lessons from her 2017 overtraining, she adopted a unique approach:

• She chose to split her longer training sessions, avoiding the exhaustive single...

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