More Than Medals: NAC Makapo Makes History at Worlds

Attending a World Championship will change you in ways you cannot imagine… and sometimes WE get to change World Championships.  

From August 17–23, the USA’s elite para outrigger athletes descended on Marina Bay, Singapore, for what would become the largest para turnout in International Va‘a Federation history. Team USA brought the first-ever V6 para team, along with athletes competing in V1 across the VL3, VL4, and VL1V (blind/low vision) divisions.

A Quick Guide to Para Va‘a Classifications

Para va‘a classifications group athletes based on how an impairment affects their ability to paddle, helping create fair and meaningful competition.

VL3: Athletes with physical impairments who generally have greater functional use of their trunk and legs while paddling.

VL4: An IVF classification that expands competitive opportunities for athletes with physical impairments who fall outside the traditional para va‘a classifications.

VL1V: A classification for athletes who are blind or have low vision.

Team USA came home with 24 medals, seven of them won by para-athletes—including three of the team’s six gold medals. With friends, family, and able-bodied teammates cheering from around the globe at all hours (most para races took place around midnight PDT), the week was a powerful reminder that para-athletes are every bit as much a part of the team as the athletes racing alongside them.

Among Team USA were NAC paddlers Janet Wu, Efrain Bacerra Jr., Ryan Clary, Rich Austin, and Mellisa Davis-Warden, all of whom paddle with Makapo Aquatics Project. The para team also included three athletes from Team Arizona (TAZ) and one from Montana. Coach Rob Octavio led the team, assisted by Ryan Udarbe of TAZ, with Pilar Cayton providing support for both coaches and athletes.

The road to Singapore included four team training sessions, with sprint racing in Alameda Bay, training in San Diego following Iron Champs, and time at NAC. Between those sessions, additional V1 training days were added at NAC for Janet, Rich, and Mellisa from April all the way through the weekend before leaving for Worlds. Some of the athletes also regularly joined Willie Workouts, adding even more time on the water.

NAC also provided plenty of opportunities to put that training to the test, including Open Water’s Memorial Day race and the Hal Rosoff Classic. And, of course, no training season would be complete without at least one questionable decision. In April, Mellisa joined Para Coach Jill Dorsey from Hilo aboard Coach Rob’s Cantare for an epic Wild Buffalo Race adventure.

All of that time training and racing out of NAC—with incredible coaching, competition, and support—proved to be a huge benefit when Team USA lined up in Singapore against athletes from Tahiti, Hawai‘i, Aotearoa, Australia, Germany, and other fiercely competitive countries from around the world.

We all know NAC is great, so back to Singapore and IVF World Championships with a little group of scrappy dreamers changing the world… 

With lane familiarizations and classifications finally complete, it was time to race!

The very first race of the competition was the 500m Mixed Para V6—and Team USA started things off with a bronze! Later that afternoon, the 1000m V6 crew tackled a too-many-turns-to-count course and secured another bronze, racing against Tahiti and Aotearoa. It was incredibly exciting to see our team take the stage and claim some of the first medals of the competition.

Day two brought Rich Austin—the only upper-extremity amputee competing in VL4—Janet Wu (VL3), and Mellisa Davis-Warden (VL4) to the V1 course for the 250m races. Rich put together a tremendous race, while Janet dusted the competition to claim the first GOLD of the competition. Mellisa, who could have used a little more distance, came away with silver.

That evening at the awards ceremony, the Hawaiian contingent approached our Makapo paddlers with a question: Would they like to race in the blind/low-vision event the following day?

It was a simple invitation, but it became something much bigger. In a week already filled with firsts, medals, and milestones, this was a reminder of what makes para paddling—and this community—so special. Competitors became teammates. Countries became collaborators. And the focus shifted from who would stand on the podium to how many more people could be given the chance to get on the water and race.

That was when the real magic of Worlds began.

Day three of competition (August 23) brought the largest blind/low-vision turnout of the Championships for the VL1V 500m. Ryan had paddled a V1 maybe half a dozen times, while Efrain had raced V1 before—but never without a guide. This time, both paddlers raced with fellow para paddlers serving as their guides, another first for the team. The Makapo boys put together an incredible showing, with Ryan bringing home ANOTHER bronze for Team USA.

Rich delivered another solid performance in the 500m, advancing to the finals. Mellisa followed in the VL4 500m and left an impressive 14-second gap between herself and the Brazilian paddler in second place—ANOTHER gold for Team USA!

Then there was Janet Wu. The World Champion once again showed exactly why she is the best VL3 V1 paddler in the world, walking away from the competition in the 500m and adding another gold to Team USA’s medal count.

Abso-freaking-lutely unbelievable.

And that, friends, is how Team USA’s para-athletes brought home nearly one-third of the country’s medals at the World Championships.

It would be a pretty great story if it ended there, right?

But friends, teammates, and fellow faces on the washdeck—this is just the beginning…

So, what’s next for Makapo and the elite athletes this program has produced? Keep an eye out for that Makapo Team at the U.S. National Championships from Newport to Catalina this weekend.

Then, on September 19, Makapo Aquatics will celebrate 20 years of overcoming obstacles with a special luau at NAC. It also happens to be Coach Rob’s birthday. Not a bad way to celebrate a coach who has built a pretty impressive track record of coaching gold medalists over the past three years.

For everything these athletes have accomplished, they’re still some of the most down-to-earth people you’ll meet on the washdeck. They love sharing what they’ve learned, telling their stories, and, most importantly, getting on the water with newcomers. Because not that long ago, every one of us was new. Someone—some kind human (ahem, Pilar)—shared the water with us, gave us a little confidence, and helped us believe we could do something bigger.

And finally, a huge thank you to Billy, Bobby, Kel, Robbie, and the entire NAC staff. Thank you for carrying boats, moving wheelchairs and walkers, picking up the pieces when we’ve given everything we have on the water and simply “can’t” anymore. Thank you for cheering at all hours, laughing with us at SCORA start lines, and, on many days, simply putting up with our antics.

There is no US without all of you and your support.

To learn more about Makapo Aquatics Project, get on the water as an able-bodied or disabled paddler, or help support the future World Champions of our sport, visit makapo.org.

– Mel Warden