APP World Champion, Seychelle, sits down with us to discuss her highs and lows of last year’s tour, how it feels to be a champion and what her thoughts are towards the season ahead.
Reigning “Fastest Female Paddler on Earth,” Guinness World Record holder for longest paddle in 24 hours and now APP’s world champion, Seychelle has made a momentous splash in the world of SUP.
Despite having the world tour on her radar for a while, 2019 was the first year Seychelle has competed. Going from APP rookie to victor in just one season, Seychelle put on a historic display. Starting off with a win in both the sprints and distance in London, her momentum remained sky high as she paddled towards another win in the sprints in New York, dominated the distance in Osaka and climaxed in Paris where she took home the 2019 World Title; “that was my favourite moment in the last several years.”
Reflecting on her first APP World Tour, Seychelle admits that she “wasn’t back to normal when the tour began,” after suffering from a serious injury that put her out of training for two months.
“I went with the attitude- I am not ready to win, but I am ready to race so let’s go and see what happens… that mindset is the winning mindset.”
On her tail throughout the world tour was April Zilg, who had a consistently impressive performance in 2019 and was ultimately ranked runner up behind Seychelle. Whilst Seychelle enjoys the competitive nature of the World Tour, she still feels the pressure from her fellow paddlers:
“April and I push each other a lot. I leave no stone unturned when it comes to training. I train well, eat well, recover well. April approaches her athleticism the same way as me and that is more intimidating than anything.”
Seychelle entered the tour with the background of an ultra-distance athlete and has voiced concern about her experience in Surf Racing. When asked about the Surf Racing in New York, Seychelle confesses that: “I didn’t think I had that skill set. I didn’t consider myself a surfing paddler, but the results show that I am, so I have to give myself a lot of credit for that.” And rightly so, as Seychelle secured yet another win in the sprints.
Looking towards this year’s season, despite the uncertainties that have arose from Covid-19, Seychelle seems more determined than ever to defend her title: “I have adapted my training to my home, and I am focused on the world title and my world ranking.”
“This year, I am going to focus on mental and self-work, rather than physical. I am going to try to navigate what I did right last year that wasn’t necessarily part of the plan and figure out how to implement it into my training this year.”
Seychelle is entering the 2020 APP World Tour with all paddles blazing and she is most definitely the one to watch.
For more on all things APP and to look back on an amazing 2019 and forward to an exciting 2020, please go to @appworldtour.
Source: https://www.appworldtour.com/
