Welcome to our collection of the biggest news and stories that have taken place in the SUP world from the previous month. Let's recap what happened in August 2026.
LONGEST DAY SUP - Endurance Race
The Belgian SUP Tour’s The Longest Day returned to Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure on 22 August 2026, challenging 40 paddlers to complete ten separate 5.6km races, with one start every hour.
Dutch paddlers dominated the event, with Joep van Bakel winning the men’s race ahead of his 13-year-old son Mylo and Morgan Benard, while Marin Hoeboer led an all-Dutch women’s podium ahead of Ella Oesterholt and Elin van der Sar.
Ten-year-old Tije van Bakel also became the youngest participant to complete the full challenge. The event concluded the Double 10 series, with Morgan Benard and Catherine Salignoc crowned the overall men’s and women’s champions.
CASPER STEINFATH - New Chapter
Six-time SUP World Champion Casper Steinfath has announced the end of his 17-year partnership with Naish, closing one of the longest and most recognisable athlete-brand relationships in stand up paddling. The Danish paddler shared the news on social media, describing his departure as a heartfelt goodbye and reflecting on a relationship that began when he was still a teenager. “Naish was always so much more than just a sponsor or the boards under my feet,” – Casper.
During their 17 years together, Casper developed from a young SUP racer from Klitmøller into one of the sport’s most successful and influential athletes.
Known throughout the paddling world as the Danish Viking, he has won six SUP World Championship titles, four European titles and claimed consecutive victories at Red Bull Heavy Water in 2017 and 2019.
His career with Naish has also extended far beyond racing.
ANTONIO DE LA ROSA - Northwest Passage SUP Attempt
Spanish adventurer Antonio de la Rosa paddled 367.7km through Canada’s Northwest Passage during a 16-day attempt to complete the 3,000km Arctic route alone on a specially designed expedition SUP.
After battling powerful headwinds, near-freezing water and a dangerous offshore capsize, he completed a 63.5km crossing of Admiralty Inlet through dense fog. The expedition ended when a storm producing winds approaching 100km/h broke apart the shoreline ice and carried his board and equipment out to sea.
De la Rosa was safely rescued by the Canadian Coast Guard and intends to return for another attempt.