10 years of great SUP Racing on Crete
The International Canoe Federation (ICF), in collaboration with various Greek organizations and the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos, proudly presents Agios Nikolao on SUP an ICF SUP World Ranking Event. This prestigious competition will be held next weekend, in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, alongside the Hellenic Long Distance SUP Championship and the Hellenic Technical SUP Cup.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Agios Nikolaos on SUP has grown from a local race into a high-level international event, attracting top athletes from around the world. Last year’s event saw 230 athletes from 15 countries, solidifying Agios Nikolaos as a leading SUP destination.
This year’s event is an official ICF SUP World Ranking Event, with points contributing to athletes’ rankings ahead of the 2025 World Championships in Abu Dhabi. For the first time, the World Championships will feature a special award for the Overall Winner of the ICF World Ranking Series.
With €9,000 in prizemoney for the top five finishers in both Long Distance and Technical Races, and a total of €18,000 when combined with the SITIA ICF SUP World Cup, the event promises to attract top SUP athletes. There will be 215 athletes from 23 countries competing.
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Stacked field of international stars
SUP fans will be delighted to see Japan’s superstar, Shrimpy Shuri Araki, make an appearance in Crete next weekend. This will be Shrimpy’s season opener, as we have not seen him racing since Sarasota 2025. We are especially looking forward to seeing Shrimpy paddle against Donato Freens, who is coming off a long-distance victory at the Battle for Hercules.
Eri Tenorio will be there two, just like Donato he is travelling from Spain to Greece for the 2nd stop of our Super SUP Euro Spring Tour. Eri will have his work cut out against Donato and Shrimpy his results in Spain did not earn him any price money. If he wants to get some extra cash he has to make the top 5 this time. We are sure he is extra motivated to have a pay day this time.
Another name to pay attention to will be Blue Ewer. This will be the first time in 2025 that we see him race against an international field, and we are looking forward to seeing how he starts the season. Further in the field, we have Italy’s Paolo Marconi, Simone Tugnoli Peron, and Filippo Mercuriali. These are the noteworthy international names competing against a strong group of Greek nationals, notably Phaedon Doukas and Anastasios Tsouris, both local athletes who have made a name for themselves on the global stage.
As much as we are excited to see the men racing, we can’t wait for the first appearance of Marie Carmen Rivera. She is making the trip to Crete from Puerto Rico to compete for important ICF points as well as some good prize money.
However, Marie Carmen won’t have an easy path in Greece. Her biggest opponents will be Katniss Paris, Csillag Kocsis, and Susak Molinero. For starters, Katniss is coming to Greece with strong momentum, currently holding the ICF SUP Sprint World Title and highly motivated to further her career in the sport.
Csillag, who just turned 18, made a great impression last weekend at the Battle for Hercules, where she raced against some of the strongest women in the sport — with the exception of Marie Carmen. We are particularly looking forward to seeing how Csillag will perform.
Susak Molinero is a very experienced athlete who has been in the sport for a long time. Her experience could prove especially valuable in the long-distance race.
We must also not rule out the dark horse potential of Natalia Notvistkaia, who is finding her way back into the sport. The last time we saw her was in Florida at the ICF Worlds. We will also keep an eye on Linda Syrovátková from the Czech Republic and Marta Apanasewicz from Poland.
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