A one-on-one showdown turned into a showcase for Team Hawai'i at the inaugural Across the Sea Outrigger Challenge last weekend in Europe.

Team Hawai'i — nine elite paddlers from around the state — won the grueling 67-mile race across the Adriatic Sea. They completed the course from Pirano, Slovenia, to Venice, Italy, in 7 hours, 8 minutes, 14 seconds.

"By far the longest and hardest race I've ever paddled," said team member Karel Tresnak Jr. "We were all toasted at the end."

Perhaps because of the daunting distance, several European teams dropped out in the days before the race.

The only other team to enter was a crew from Italy. They completed the course in 8:12:53.

"One of the suggestions I made to the (race organizers) was that they make the race shorter next time," said Team Hawai'i manager Karel Tresnak Sr. "But I thought we did really well considering we were in an unfamiliar place and it was such a long distance."

Team Hawai'i featured three paddlers from Outrigger Canoe Club (Tresnak Jr., Jimmy Austin and Byron Ho), two from Kailua (Donovan Leandro and Kawai Mahoe), two from Kai E Hitu on the Big Island (Kafoa Halalatu and Bruce Ayau), one from Keauhou on the Big Island (Nate Hendricks) and one from Hawaiian on Maui (Rick Nu'u).

The nine paddlers alternated in the six seats of the canoe throughout the race (when six were paddling, the other three followed in an escort boat).

"We pretty much left the Italians behind after the first hour," Austin said. "But once we hit the five-or six-hour mark, it got tough. It became a mental challenge as well as a physical one."

What's more, temperatures were near 90 degrees, and there were light winds and calm seas.

"We stayed in Italy for four days after the race, and the first three days were recuperating," Austin said.

Still, Team Hawai'i was able to make a "pit stop" late in the race because they built such a big lead early in the race.

"Our escort boat ran out of gas so we kind of made a turn into one of the small cities along the way," Austin said. "It wasn't an ideal situation and it made the race longer for us, but we didn't want to be stranded in international waters, either."

Team Hawai'i was greeted at the finish line by around 1,000 Italian fans in Venice.

"They were speaking Italian, so we didn't understand a word," Austin said. "But it was still pretty impressive to see that many people out there."

Team Hawai'i was invited to the race because Tresnak Sr. now manufactures fiberglass canoes in Europe through his Outrigger Connection company.

In addition to racing, Team Hawai'i visited one of the Italian canoe clubs and performed a traditional Hawaiian blessing before the race.

Tresnak Sr. said the Italians want to host a similar race every year.

"This trip was a big success," he said. "We were a part of history, and hopefully we helped them start something big for the future."

Austin added: "The main goal for us was to show off the sport of canoe paddling to a part of the world that doesn't see it much, and I would say we accomplished that."