Fiona Wylde near top of rankings after SUP World Cup win

“I think it was my best result, the most consistent that I’ve done,” she said after returning to Hood River, where she will continue training in preparation for the Naish Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge Aug. 19-20. “It felt really good to put a good race together.”

Wylde finished first overall in the 300-meter sprint races on Saturday — a race that “was solid all the way through” for her. That followed Sunday with a second-place finish in the 6.5-mile distance race that featured multiple leaders throughout the competition, which Wylde characterized as “very unusual.” Wylde also led a portion of the race, ultimately losing to Starboard teammate Olivia Piana, but still placing first overall. Wylde said competition was especially fierce, calling it on her Facebook page “one of the most intense two days of racing I’ve participated in yet!”

That win helped bump Wylde up to second in the world in the SUP women rankings, putting her “in a really good position for the second half of the season” with 216 points, behind New Zealand’s Annabel Anderson (234.78). Last year, Wylde finished third, moving up from fourth the previous year.

“I’ve never been sitting at No. 2 in the world before, so that is a big accomplishment,” she noted.

The SUP World Cup win is far from Wylde’s only success this season, reeling off first- and second-place finishes one after the other. Wylde said she will look forward to “carrying the American flag” as a member of Team USA at the International Surfing Association World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Denmark in September. She qualified for the competition after placing second in the distance race held at a national qualifying competition in Oceanside, Calif., last month. Only the top two finishers in that race got to qualify for the team.

Wylde has been doing this while simultaneously dealing with Type 1 diabetes, which she was diagnosed with in May 2015. This spring, Wylde was also diagnosed with Celiac Disease, most well-known for causing intolerance to gluten, which is found in wheat and other foods.

For Wylde, it’s simply one more thing to manage. Announcing her new diagnosis on her professional Facebook page, Wylde stated, “This is most definitely not the end of the world, just makes things a bit more difficult.” A month later, Wylde posted a picture of her in Germany, running through a wheat field. “Ironically found some wheat fields to run through,” the post read. “Even though I’ll never be able to eat wheat, it looked too beautiful swaying in the wind not to stop!”

Wylde has enjoyed meeting up with friends both new and old on the trip, including another Hood River resident, Hannah Hill, who has also had a great season, sitting behind Wylde at No. 13 on the top 50 leaderboard. And while Wylde has been enjoying her travels, she’s looking forward to spending her summer back in Hood River.

“The more that I travel, the more unique and special a place it is to be here,” she said.

Keep up with Wylde’s travels by heading to her Facebook page at facebook.com/fionawylde11.