Story by Axel Sauerteig
Unusual conditions awaited the stand-up paddlers at the very first European Championship of the European Canoe Association (ECA). Not only did the conditions on a regatta course pose a new challenge for many—except for the paddlers coming from the canoeing sport—but also the weather conditions, with hot sections featuring blazing sun and partly heavy rain showers with rapidly dropping temperatures, had to be managed.
This was particularly noticeable on the sprint course, where the start was made from plastic starting shoes, or for example on the long-distance course, where the SUPers constantly encountered each other in the four laps on the regatta lanes, and the performance classes were cheerfully mixed between the many large and small buoys. Until no one knew their position anymore. Also unusual was the course of the TechRaces, with an approach of 600 meters to the first buoy, followed by four more buoys in the remaining 400 meters.
Although some big names of European SUP sports were missing, there was no lack of quality, as many had followed the ECA’s call to Szeged, Hungary. What had been emerging in the races of the past two years, as well as at the ICF World Championship in Thailand, became even more evident in Hungary: Especially the young riders are pushing to the top. For the men, it was the 20-year-old Spaniard Manuel Hoyuela who won medals in all three disciplines, while for the women it was the only 18-year-old Kyriaki Logotheti, who also reached the podium in all three disciplines.
From a German perspective, four silver medals were achieved: Skadi Langbein in Juniors, Marlon Daskiran in Juniors, Martin Teichmann as Master +40, and Ole Schwarz in Open Men. It should be noted that age categories existed only in the Long Distance race, not in the TechRace and Sprint, meaning Masters and Juniors competed in the Open class. In addition to the podium places, the fourth place by Bastian Grimm in the TechRace and the seventh place by Lasse-Niklas Sauerteig in the surprisingly strong Inflatable Race are noteworthy.
The editorial team thanks Axel Sauerteig, the father of Lasse Sauerteig. Lasse is an ambitious junior from whom we will certainly hear more in the future. In Hungary, he finished the 200m sprint with a time of 57.421 seconds. In the TechRace, he reached the quarterfinals.
Find Lasse Sauerteig on Facebook.