Candice Appleby couldn’t help but feel fear.
The forecast called for massive 20-foot waves leading up to the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Pichelimu, Chile. At the last Pan American Games in 2019, the stand-up paddle competitor suffered the worst wipeout of her life, slammed by the shorebreak as she neared the finish line, sucked out into a rip current and battered by wave after wave – a wipeout that cost her the gold medal.
“I knew I was going to have to trust God to do for me what I couldn’t do for myself, to give me strength I didn’t have,” Appleby said. “I learned a big lesson about fear. It’s a waste of time and energy.”
She found the strength and determination she needed to earn gold in the SUP racing division on Oct. 30 at the Pan American Games, a redemption four years in the making that puts her at the top of the sport she’s dominated for nearly two decades.
SUP surfer Zane Schweitzer and fellow SUP racer Connor Baxter, both from Maui, also earned gold for Team USA.
“I’m stoked and grateful and happy to be home,” Appleby said, fresh off the plane and back in San Clemente on Wednesday, Nov. 1. “I don’t know if it’s all sunk in yet.”
In total, 88 athletes from 16 countries competed in the SUP and surfing contests and 24 medals were won by athletes from nine different nations. Peru took the overall rankings lead with six medals, three of which were gold.
The Pan American Games are the world’s second largest sporting event next to the Olympics, with an estimated 6,000 athletes competing.
Appleby has also earned five International Surfing Association SUP world championships gold medals, three in technical races and two distance races, a silver in sprint, and a bronze technical medal.
Appleby earned her spot in the Chile event with her gold medal win in SUP technical at the ISA world championships in Puerto Rico last year.
She also qualified for the SUP surfing competition, but opted out after suffering…
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