The 2026 ICF SUP World Championships brought five days of international racing to Sabaudia, Italy, from 14–18 October, with established champions defending their crowns and new names reaching the top of the podium. Racing on Lago di Paola covered sprint, technical and long-distance disciplines across open, junior and masters categories.
Pampinella and Korobov take sprint gold
Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella delivered a home victory in the women’s 100m sprint, finishing in 28.69 seconds ahead of Puerto Rico’s Mariecarmen Rivera and Poland’s Hanna Kamińska.
Lithuania’s Vadim Korobov won the men’s sprint in 23.31 seconds, with Spain’s Sergio Cantoral and Manuel Hoyuela completing the podium.
Rivera and Sánchez retain technical titles
Rivera returned to the top step in the women’s technical race, successfully defending her world title ahead of Spain’s Duna Gordillo and Alba Alonso Frey.
Spain’s Aarón Sánchez Quetglas also retained his technical crown, finishing ahead of France’s Noic Garioud and the USA’s Connor Baxter.
Kocsis breaks through as Araki makes it three
Hungary’s 19-year-old Csillag Kocsis claimed her first senior world title in the women’s long-distance race. A decisive move in the closing stages helped her secure gold ahead of Esperanza Barreras and Duna Gordillo.
Japan’s Shuri Araki won a third consecutive men’s long-distance title, pulling away late in the race to beat Sánchez Quetglas and LluÃs Perotti.
British success for Ginnie Betts
Great Britain’s Ginnie Betts delivered one of the championships’ standout masters performances, winning women’s 50+ gold in both sprint and long distance, alongside technical silver.
Competing at her first SUP World Championships just over a year after a breast cancer diagnosis, Betts credited paddling and its community with helping motivate her through recovery.