Bodie von Allmen and Sey Chelle Lead the Way in Gig Harbor

The 2026 USA SUP National Championships brought three days of racing to Gig Harbor, Washington, from September 18–20, with Sprint, Long Distance and Technical racing deciding the national titles.

Hosted by USA SUP together with The Narrows Challenge, the championships combined elite racing with age-group, youth and—for the first time—an Inflatable SUP category. The event was also registered as an international SUP ranking race.

More importantly for the American elite field, Gig Harbor served as the 2026 U.S. National Team selection event. The American Canoe Association confirmed ahead of the event that results from the USA SUP Nationals would be used to select the U.S. team for the 2026 ICF SUP World Championships in Sabaudia, Italy, October 14–18.

Bodie von Allmen dominates men’s racing

One of the biggest stories of the weekend was Bodie von Allmen. The young American has been one of the country’s leading SUP racers for several seasons and represented the United States at the 2025 ICF SUP World Championships. (ACA)

In Gig Harbor, von Allmen demonstrated his versatility by winning both the Men’s Long Distance and Sprint, while finishing second in the Technical Race.

The Long Distance produced one of the weekend’s closest battles. Von Allmen won the 10K in 58:26, only 25 seconds ahead of Campbell Carter, who crossed the line in 58:51. (MK Library)

Carter then turned the tables in Sunday’s Technical Race, taking the win ahead of von Allmen. John Batson completed the podium, giving him his second third-place result of the weekend after also finishing third in the Long Distance. (MK Library)

Carter’s performance continues his progression within the American racing scene. He was already third in the Open Men’s Technical Race at the 2024 USA SUP Nationals and second in the Sprint that year. (USA Support)

Another familiar name near the front was Dave Boehne, who finished third in the Sprint, fourth in the Technical and fifth in the Long Distance.

Men’s Long Distance – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Bodie von Allmen	USA
2	Campbell Carter	USA
3	John Batson	USA
4	Ahmed Fakhry	EGY
5	Dave Boehne	USA
6	Mark Klevinas	CAN
7	Tony Galang	USA
8	Jack Hodge	MEX
9	David Alber	USA
10	Ron Rillorta	CAN

Men’s Sprint – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Bodie von Allmen	USA
2	Campbell Carter	USA
3	Dave Boehne	USA
4	Bo Weidner	USA
5	Jonathan Grady	USA
6	Ahmed Fakhry	EGY
7	John Batson	USA
8	Jack Hodge	MEX
9	Bastien Donze	FRA
10	Alex Vaughan	USA

Men’s Technical – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Campbell Carter	USA
2	Bodie von Allmen	USA
3	John Batson	USA
4	Dave Boehne	USA
5	Bo Weidner	USA
6	Jack Hodge	MEX
7	Paul Pianowski	USA
8	Ethan Huff	USA
9	Ahmed Fakhry	EGY
10	David Alber	USA

Sey Chelle sweeps the women’s competition

On the women’s side, Sey Chelle was the standout performer of the championships, winning all three disciplines.

Chelle is certainly no newcomer to the top of American SUP racing. At the 2024 USA SUP Nationals she won the women’s 10K and also finished on the podium in the Technical Race. (Standup Magazin)

Two years later in Gig Harbor, she went one better by completing the clean sweep: Long Distance, Sprint and Technical.

The women’s field also included one of the best-known names in American SUP history, Candice Appleby. Appleby finished second in the Long Distance, showing that she remains highly competitive against the current generation. Her presence at the championships extended beyond racing: USA SUP also had Appleby running pre-event clinics focusing on footwork, board skills, stroke and glide.

Soryn Preston was another consistent podium contender, finishing third in the Long Distance, fifth in the Sprint and second in the Technical Race.

Mexico’s Alex Ostrowski also had a strong weekend, making the top five in every discipline and taking third in the Sprint.

Women’s Long Distance – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Sey Chelle	USA
2	Candice Appleby	USA
3	Soryn Preston	USA
4	Alex Ostrowski	MEX
5	Lindsay Weidner	USA
6	Brenda Jin	USA
7	Samantha Eastburn	USA
8	Olga Raskina	RUS
9	Ines Lamadrid	USA
10	Hyunyoung Boo	USA

Women’s Sprint – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Sey Chelle	USA
2	Samantha Eastburn	USA
3	Alex Ostrowski	MEX
4	Lindsay Weidner	USA
5	Soryn Preston	USA
6	Brenda Jin	USA
7	Olga Raskina	RUS
8	Meryl Bezrutczyk Lauriat	USA
9	Hyunyoung Boo	USA
10	Alyson Mrozinski	USA

Women’s Technical – Top 10

Pos.	Athlete	Nation
1	Sey Chelle	USA
2	Soryn Preston	USA
3	Lindsay Weidner	USA
4	Samantha Eastburn	USA
5	Alex Ostrowski	MEX
6	Hyunyoung Boo	USA
7	Rachel Cantore	USA
8	Brenda Jin	USA
9	Olga Raskina	RUS
10	Christina Truebenbach	USA

More than national titles at stake

The Gig Harbor weekend carried significance beyond the individual National Championship results. The event was the designated selection race for the American team heading to Sabaudia, Italy, where the ICF SUP World Championships will take place from October 14–18, 2026.

It also showed the breadth of the American SUP scene. Alongside established racers such as von Allmen, Chelle and Appleby, athletes including Campbell Carter, Soryn Preston, Samantha Eastburn and Lindsay Weidner featured prominently across multiple disciplines.

The National Championships furthermore introduced an Inflatable SUP division, while maintaining youth and age-group racing alongside the Open competition. USA SUP described the event as an effort to bring competitors of different levels together under one championship format.

For the elite field, however, two performances stand above the rest: Bodie von Allmen’s two victories and second place across the men’s disciplines, and Sey Chelle’s perfect three-from-three sweep of the women’s racing.