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00:00 Hi everyone, I'm Marty, I'm from the Port News. I'm here with Hayden Copping, who is Port Macquarie's new world champion.
00:06 Hayden, thank you for joining us. Congratulations. Tell me, where have you just been and what have you just done?
00:13 Yeah, thank you very much. I've just been over in Hawaii. I've just completed the Molokai to Oahu World Pro and Paddleboard Championships.
00:19 And yeah, I ended up winning the title.
00:22 How does it feel to be coming home and being a new world champion?
00:26 It's pretty special. I can't say it's really sunk in. I think every day since the race has happened, it's starting to sink in more and more and more.
00:32 Now, this event, they've regarded it as one of the most challenging events that you could do in terms of paddleboarding.
00:39 How did you find it, being out there? It's a 52km race, is it?
00:43 Correct.
00:44 Tell me about that experience of having to do that.
00:47 Yeah, it's quite ruthless. It's ranked in the top 7 hardest races in the world, full stop.
00:51 So, it's definitely the hardest pro and paddleboard race you can do. 52km, as you said, 200m depth of water.
00:58 The energy and the current out there is unparalleled.
01:01 And yeah, it took me, I was under world record pace for a while and then all of a sudden the current's actually changed on us halfway through the race.
01:08 So, that added an hour just to the race, just because the tide changed on us.
01:11 It's as much as a mental challenge as it is a physical. How do you keep pushing yourself to keep going?
01:17 Absolutely. There's a lot of demons doing that race.
01:21 There's probably about two hours in, I was happy days and then all of a sudden after that it was just struggle straight.
01:26 So, the way I was sort of doing it mentally was just, because it's downwind, was sort of chasing little bumps or waves in a sense.
01:32 I knew I was in the lead and I knew that every single runner that I was going to catch was going to get me close to that finish line, close to the title.
01:38 So, when the going got tough, I had my dad in the support boat with a local Hawaiian driver and they were sort of trying to give me encouragement as they could.
01:45 At the same time, they also knew their boundaries because if they did too much I probably would have lost my flight.
01:50 So, I was just trying to find that healthy balance and then sort of knowing that once I get through this half an hour of pain,
01:57 there'll be an hour of good times and another 30 minutes of pain. So, I was just trying to balance all that.
02:01 I was just more than content just finishing the race, to be completely honest with you.
02:05 And yeah, to win it on top of all that is just amazing.
02:08 And as I said last year, you came second in a different race. You also brushed against a shark.
02:13 Did that play in your mind going into this race or when you were out there, were you ever worried?
02:18 No, I don't think I was ever worried. You just get so caught up in the race like they're out there.
02:24 I could have seen them, I could have not. I sort of had tunnel vision of where I was going to and I don't think I ever felt scared during the race.
02:32 I have encounters here at Port Macquarie, so it's nothing out of the ordinary for me.
02:38 And that moment when you finished and you knew that you had won, what was that like for you?
02:44 Oh, it was so special. I wish I could say I knew early, but I didn't know until about a kilometre out from the finish line when I heard it over the loudspeaker.
02:50 You know, here comes the world champ. So, I sort of sat up on my board, looked up at the sky and went,
02:56 "Is this really happening?" and just tried to soak in that last kilometre as much as I could.
03:00 He will be world champion in the open paddleboard stock division today. Come on, give it up for Hayden Coffey.
03:10 Oh, it's been a whirlwind. My phone has not stopped buzzing since Monday.
03:14 So, it was actually a day where I just put my phone aside and said, "I can't."
03:17 At the moment, I'm loving all the support, but I just can't deal with it at the moment.
03:21 So, I'm trying to still go through and reply to everybody as much as I can and really take the time because, yeah, it really is just so special.
03:28 I'm just a local kid from Port Macquarie and then all of a sudden, world champion.
03:33 And so, what's next for you? Are you just going to rebel in this moment for a bit? You don't have plans?
03:38 Or have you got the next big event circled on the calendar?
03:41 Yeah, I've thought about it for a couple of days. I will definitely go again. I'd like to defend the title.
03:48 Financially, it's quite an expense to get over there, so I'll have to look in the budget and try and start saving now.
03:54 But, yeah, that's the plan for the next couple of months. I'll put the feet up, just enjoy the waves, go surfing, just enjoy some down time.
04:02 I haven't had it all year, so that'll be very special.
04:05 Alright, well, thank you so much for chatting with me. I really appreciate it.
04:09 You've left Port Macquarie a few weeks ago as Hayden Copping. You've now returned as Hayden Copping world champion.
04:16 I'm sure it's going to take some time to sort of settle in, but we're all so proud of you and thank you so much for chatting with me.
04:21 No worries. Thanks so much.
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