It’s official! Sebastian Szubski completed his circumnavigation of Britain in a record-breaking 37 days. Betsy talks about what she learned from Sebastian and his crew at his finish in Scotland, and Billy contextualises Sebastian’s record in the bigger history of Round Britain records. They consider where the record should go from here.

At the Gorge, it was an epic showdown between 2024 defending champion Austin Kieffer, 2025’s Molokai record breaking champion Pat Dolan, Mackenzie Hynard of “The Paddlers Pod”, and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Jackson Collins. Ana Swetish won the women’s race by miles, finishing shortly behind those top 4. The racing was tight, and perhaps the results give a picture into what to expect from World Champs in Durban later this year…

New (and repeat) world champions were crowned at the Junior & U23 Sprint Canoe World Championships in Portugal. This season’s young stand-outs from earlier competitions in Europe took medals and top results, and the Americas and Australia showed up with some exceptional results. Is Jonas Ecker’s double double the tipping point for a new era in American sprint paddling?

Billy and Betsy both attended the UK Marathon National Championships in Norwich, where Billy took the over 34 titles in K1 and K2 and Betsy reported live on almost all the races. They cover the racing highlights, drama, and which paddling family’s Sunday Roast they’d want to join after last weekend. Plus, Norwegian Syver Borge Saksvik joins the episode to talk about why he decided to fly over to the UK to race at UK marathon nationals, and how the UK scene compares to the marathon scene in Norway.

Coming up on 9th August is the Sella descent, one of the most iconic marathon races in the world. And the 2025 Sella is looking like one of the most competitive races of the year despite several top names missing due to the conflict with the World Games in China. Undoubtedly there will be some excellent action and close racing in Spain next weekend.

Come back again soon for a full preview of the World Games, which some of the best marathon racers in the world have been preparing for relentlessly all year.

00:01:05 Sebastian Szubski’s WORLD RECORD circ of Britain

00:16:58 The Gorge: Race Recap

00:23:33 Recap of the Junior & U23 World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho Portugal

00:36:39 UK Marathon National Championships

In their own words: Syver Borge Saksvik

00:53:20 Sella Descent Preview

00:56:50 The Warm Down: Avon Descent, Peter Cole, Ivan Lawler’s commentary, and pedals in sprint kayaks

*CORRECTION: Sean Morley’s circumnavigation of GB + Ireland was 169 days, not 156. But it was in the 156-180 day range. Morley’s was definitely an adventure as he added in the Shetland Islands too! Read more on Performance Sea Kayak, linked below.

#gbcircumnavigation #guinnessworldrecord #seakayaking #surfskikayak #bipolardisorder #marathonkayak #marathoncanoe #worldgames #selladescent #thegorgedownwindchampionships 

Links:

Fiona Whitehead’s 140 day record around Britain + Ireland: https://performanceseakayak.co.uk/Pages/Multiday2a/multidayGBCircIreland2a_notes.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/3602668.stm 

Peter Cole obituary: https://paddledaily.com/2025/07/29/orka-squad-coach-peter-cole-a-giant-of-the-sport-gone-too-soon/

UK Marathon National Championship highlights: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18087811336703664/