Team USA had a great year at the ISA World SUP & Prone Paddleboard Championship this year, bringing home a copper medal in the Team Relay and doing us American paddlers pretty damn proud. We spoke with Donald Miralle and Tiana Pugliese: the prone competitors for Team USA, staples in the California paddling community, all around great humans- about their time in Denmark, racing, and the future of the sport.
Tell us about your seasons leading up to ISA. And Don, you had Catalina just a bit ago. How was it racing so soon after Catalina?
Tiana: I went into this season with my focal point being ISA- I had a slow build and wanted to incorporate more short paddles, strength training, and things to help the small muscles in paddling. I did Rock2Rock and The South Bay paddle, lots of paddles out of Malibu… but as far as training went, I focused on shorter paddles since the ISA races were shorter- more sprint heavy. I did lots of consistent 10 mile paddles for a 6 week period.
Don: It's hard to get up for big races, especially ones so close to each other that are SO different. Catalina is pretty much an ultra distance race since you are moving between 5-7 hours, while in contrast the ISA races are full-redline drafting sprints, ranging from 20 minutes to 90 minutes. So training and prep are totally different and on opposite sides of the spectrum. For years now my paddleboard season has always been dictated by the distance, with shorter races and training sessions in late spring/early summer slowly ramping up to much longer distances by the end of July and August to prep for Catalina and Molokai. I've always seemed to do better in the races around the 8-15 mile range, but I enjoy the long ones as well because of the discipline it takes to do them. But realistically, my photography job and family commitments take priority and will always take me away from training with regularity, mostly because of the demands of travel. The day after Catalina I was on a plane to Paris, France, to cover the Paralympics for two weeks, which meant no paddling or water time, and really made it so I just had to stretch my taper to Worlds and hope I was fit enough.
Tiana and Don racing at Rock2Rock
You're back home from the games now- how was it?
Tiana: It was definitely a different experience than when I was last racing in ISA, in El Salvador. We had a smaller team, but the event was so well put together. It was a really neat experience as a competitor, teammate, and traveler. There was a lot of flat water paddling which isn’t my preference, but we had fantastic weather conditions, beautiful sunshine for the whole race, and warm water. The course for the distance race was so cool- it was a figure 8 loop through the city with people lined up along the course watching and cheering on their countries. And, the traveling part is the cherry on top- it’s nice to paddle in waters you’ve never thought you would paddle in before. I never thought I would be paddling through the harbors in Copenhagen.
Don: The ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Champs in Copenhagen Denmark were epic. From the venue to the athletes, to the food and culture in Denmark, it was an amazing experience.
Photo: ISA / Pablo Franco
Why is this event so special?
Tiana: What makes it so special is representing your country. I’m there for a purpose- representing Team USA. And seeing how everyone comes together, and is so supportive of each other- it’s so cool. We’re all there for the same purpose, and everyone is so friendly and supportive of each other. Everyone is doing the same sport as me, just in another country.
Don: Being able to meet and race against like minded ocean athletes from nearly 50 countries all over Europe, Asia, Scandinavia, Australia, and even Iran and Senegal is truly inspiring. You don't really get it until you see everyone lining up for the Opening Ceremonies all carrying their countries' flags and pride on their shoulders. The ISAs are truly the Paddleboard Olympics, and if SUP and prone were to ever make it to the Olympics someday, the path would be through the ISA just like surfing.
Photo via Don
How did you feel racing the technical versus distance races?
Tiana: I thought I would prefer the technical but I actually loved the distance. It was the atmosphere- bleachers filled with people, the announcers calling our names, the streets were lined with people, there were all the flags- there was something about it that was really different that we didn't have in El Salvador. It was a really cool atmosphere. It definitely felt like our Olympics.
Don: Truthfully this year, the tech race was super short and the distance race was just an extended tech race, not really a "distance" race. I think the tech race was only a mile and a half, and once I felt like I was finally up to speed, you had to do a hard turn between 90-180 degrees, completely killing all your momentum. The distance race was only about 8 miles, so pretty much a full red-line again and I don't even think I had time to drink from my bottle. You have to be really good at sprinting (the start is so important) and being able to accelerate quickly on the board to do well, which is hard for me at 50. I wish I was doing these races when I was 20 and I had a lot more quick twitch, but just happy I can still compete!
Photo: ISA/ Pablo Jimenez
Looked like the packs were pretty close together. What was your strategy for such a technical distance race?
Tiana: You could tell off the bat that Yurika wanted to be first right out the gate, and she was. She set the pace, with France on her left and team UK on her right. I was drafting with Spain right behind them- we did that all the way to the first buoy and slowly got split up from there. Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan were all out in front with team France and I behind. We drafted off of each other for a bit, trying to catch the lead pack and she started to fall back. I got closer behind Italy and focused on holding my position until the end.
Photo: ISA/ Pablo Franco
Don, that was a crazy finish in the men’s distance race, where you took 3rd! Congrats by the way on that. Tiana told us about how you said, "how many opportunities in your life do you have the potential to win a medal for team USA by the end of the day?" and then you went out and did that. So sick. What was your strategy for such a technical distance race?
Don: From when the gun went off, until the finish line chute, it was an all out sprint: a lead pack 7-8 strong constantly shuffling order and bumping boards, with several hard right angle turns every lap for 3 laps. The racing intensity and strategy was next level. Coming from CA, where I primarily have been on Unlimited boards for longer distances since about 2007 and more recently started racing on stock boards, I definitely don't have as much experience as most of the paddlers who are current full-time lifeguards competing in this type of technical draft sprint racing year long. But I knew if I could just be in the mix in that front pack until the end, I could hammer it home and hopefully make a run for it. I can truthfully say that I almost passed out at the end of the 500M sprint finish but was just stoked to claw my way from 7th to 3rd place and a Bronze Medal. The only reason that happened was because I was wearing my country's colors and my teammates were cheering me on that last lap! Hopefully being the oldest guy on the podium for the 2nd straight year will inspire some younger paddlers to participate next year and realize their journey is just starting.
Photos: ISA/ Sean Evans, Pablo Franco
Where are you hoping to see the ISA games go in the future?
Tiana: I’d love to see more people trying out and training for it. I think it would be cool to have more girls involved. Race-wise, I would love to see the games at a place with more surf, especially for the technical races.
Don: Well obviously I think the goal is inclusion into the Olympics. At least from the ISA viewpoint, I think that's the natural progression of the sport and how the sport will grow and get a bigger audience...Can you imagine prone paddling at the Olympic Games?!? How epic would that be...with its rich history and core athletes it's definitely as deserving as drinking games like ping-pong and curling right??
Tiana, how was it on the team side of things? How did you guys do?
Tiana: The whole time Don had such a strong mentality- I remember the morning of the distance race he said “how many opportunities in your life do you have the potential to win a medal for team USA by the end of the day?”. And then he killed it and got third! He just went into it with such a positive mindset and that was contagious throughout the whole team. The team relay was my favorite! Our team was insane. We were not expecting to do as well as we did, since we were not highly seeded- we just squeaked by and got 3rd in prelims. After the finals, there was a DQ, and they called us up for 4th place- we were so surprised and stoked. Personally, that was my best paddle, I was able to catch the team in front of us on my leg (the 3rd leg of the relay) which I was happy about.
Don, how was being on Team USA and racing as part of that team instead of fully individually?
Don: I love team sports, and in college I swam at UCLA and I miss that camaraderie. Even though swimming seems like an individual sport like paddling, when you're on a team the dynamic is like no other. My best friends are still my old teammates from 30 years ago, and the friendship and bonds with my teammates in France last year and Denmark this year were no different. It's crazy how quickly you bond with someone if you're on the same team as them, representing your country, sharing common ground and goals. Being named Team Captain was an honor for me and coming in from last place at 9th to 4th in the Team Relay and sharing the Copper Medal with my teammates was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Photo: ISA/ Sean Evans
What’s next for you both?
Tiana: Coming back from Denmark has really reinvigorated the fire that is in me for paddling! It is a really motivating community and I’ve been feeding off of everyone’s energy- and since I’m turning dirty 30 next year- I want to go into next season and race all the races. I’m along for the ride and hoping to really enjoy the process this year. Catalina, Rock2Rock, The Malibu Downwinder, I wanna do Chattajack, I’ll try out for ISA’s again- and hopefully we get more girls involved!
Don: Trying to help guide my sons into being independent adults, working hard to support my family, and staying in shape in between!
Yes, we want Tiana back at Catalina! I think we’re going to see 20 girls next year…
Tiana: 20 girls at the Classic! That would be sick.
What did you listen to during the race? What fired you up out there?
Tiana: I listened to a lot of Max Fry, and Fred Again haha. I ran off alllll of the Denmark coffees- I had maybe 15 in the span of a week. Like, 3 cortados a day- that’s the race secret.
Don: My usually playlist on my shokz earphones: 70's-90's rock, some rap & hip-hop, and a little bit of metal to get me going!
Don, probably listening to metal. Photo: ISA/ Pablo Jimenez
Tiana, What do you have to say to the girls!? Or anyone looking to paddle.
Tiana: This year, there has been a younger age range of people who are getting involved in the sport, which is awesome. Just get into it for the community! That’s the biggest part, and that’s what makes you want to do the Classic. Paddling with everyone makes you want to race with everyone. You don’t have to start paddling for a channel crossing or Catalina. Just immerse yourself in the community, see how accepting and motivating people are. That will build your confidence, and then you will want to do Catalina! It doesn't have to be this year, or next year, but you'll do it. It’s just the most fun thing ever.
Don, anything to say to the paddling world? New paddlers? First time Catalina racers?
Don: If you're a paddler you already know how great the sport and community is. So just keep paddling! If you're thinking about paddling or are new to the sport, realize that it takes a year or two for your mind/body to finally acclimate to the training, so don't get discouraged and set realistic goals. But more importantly realize how small, good, and tight the prone paddling community is: paddlers are some of the best, most core, most stoked, biggest hearted people you will ever meet on this planet!
Thanks Don and Tiana! Way to represent us well over in Denmark.
Photos: ISA/ Pablo Franco, Sean Evans
go team 🇺🇲🦅