Rebecca Cole had never raced an ocean ski world championship before Friday. By the finish line in Villajoyosa, Spain, she was just under four minutes off the winner and sitting sixth in the world.
The fresh NZ national champion threw herself into the lead pack of the Open Women’s SS1 race, trading strokes with some of the sport’s biggest names on a surprisingly flat course after a week of promising downwind conditions. Australia’s Jemma Smith claimed her third single ski world title, with South Africa’s Kira Bester taking silver and Great Britain’s Rosie Edward rounding out the podium in bronze. Cole’s sixth placing, on debut, signals there’s more to come from the Kiwi.
Julia Padrutt arrived in Spain with momentum already behind her. The day before the SS1 race, she won the overall women’s 5km Eurochallenge event outright, and she carried that form into her first world championship start, finishing fifth in the U23 Women’s category. Grace Richardson, racing her first season out of the junior ranks, placed 19th in the same division, a solid marker for a paddler still finding her feet at senior level.
In the men’s race, Gene Prato wore the black singlet for New Zealand for the first time after switching allegiances from South Africa ahead of the 2026 season. He finished 23rd overall in a field topped by Germany’s Gordon Harbrecht, who took gold ahead of France’s Pierre Vilella and Australia’s Cory Hill in third. Masters paddler Ron Cole added to the New Zealand tally with 21st in the 60-64 category.
Prato and Cole then teamed up for the open mixed SS2 event, finishing 11th. They crossed the line a little over two minutes behind the Australian pairing of Smith and Hill, who doubled down on their individual success to take out the teams race as well.
For a small squad competing against the deepest ocean ski fields in the world, the week delivered genuine reasons for optimism. Cole and Padrutt both proved they can mix it with established internationals, while Prato’s switch to the black singlet adds experience to a programme building toward future championships. New Zealand’s ocean racing paddlers head home from Spain having given the rest of the field plenty to think about.
