A Truly International Field Heads to Crete

Agios Nikolaos is getting ready for one of the most important SUP racing weeks of the 2026 season. With more than 220 athletes already on the entry list and competitors representing countries from across Europe, Africa, North America, Australia and beyond, Crete is once again becoming a meeting point for the international SUP racing community.

From September 18 to 23, Agios Nikolaos on SUP will combine two major events at one venue: the 2026 Paddle Europe Stand Up Paddling Championships followed by the ICF SUP World Cup.

And judging by the current entry list, this will be much more than another race weekend.

More than 220 athletes from around the world

At the time of our latest count, 226 athletes appear on the registration list, spread across 26 country or federation designations.

Naturally, host nation Greece provides by far the biggest contingent, with 126 registered athletes. But what is perhaps even more impressive is what remains when the Greek entries are removed: around 100 international paddlers are travelling to Crete.

Italy currently brings the largest foreign contingent with 16 athletes, followed by Romania with 11, Portugal with nine, Germany with eight, Nigeria with seven, Poland with six, and Spain and Cyprus with five each.

The United Kingdom and Czech Republic have four athletes each, while Uganda sends three.

There are also entries from the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Türkiye and the United States, as well as individual athletes representing Denmark, France, Australia, Lithuania, Austria, South Africa and Sweden. The registration system additionally lists Individual Neutral Athletes and athletes under the Russian Canoe Federation.

That geographical spread is significant.

SUP racing has gone through plenty of changes over the past decade, but an entry list bringing athletes from Europe together with competitors from Africa, Australia, South Africa and the United States shows just how internationally connected the racing scene has become.

Donato Freens arrives as one of the men to watch

One name that immediately stands out is Donato Freens.

The Dutch racer has been one of the defining athletes of the European SUP League season and heads into the final stages of 2026 as the ESL men’s overall leader.

Freens has repeatedly demonstrated that he is dangerous across the different race formats, and Agios Nikolaos provides another opportunity to measure himself against a field extending well beyond the regular European SUP League circuit.

He will certainly not be alone.

Spain brings Manuel Hoyuela Rojas and Sergio Cantoral Quirant, two names we have encountered repeatedly throughout the European racing season. Portugal’s contingent includes rising junior Lourenço Viveiros, while Germany arrives with an interesting mix of established and younger racers.

Among them are Benyam Bossack, Anton Birkicht, Marlon Cem Daskiran and Skadi Langbein. All four have featured in our coverage during the season, with Germany’s young generation increasingly making its presence felt internationally.

Italy meanwhile brings considerable depth. Cecilia Pampinella is one of the obvious names to watch in the women’s field, joined by an Italian delegation that also includes Tommaso Pampinella, Sveva Sabato, Serse Sabato, Vira Lemekha and Lisa Venturelli.

Poland’s Marta Apanasewicz, Czech racer Linda Syrovátková, and several other familiar names from the European circuit add further depth to the women’s field.

Welcome back, Christian Andersen

There is another name on the list that we are particularly happy to see:

Christian Andersen.

The Danish paddler has been notably absent from the international SUP racing scene for much of 2026. Andersen has been one of the recognizable European names of the sport for years, and his absence has certainly been noticeable.

Seeing Denmark and Christian Andersen back on an international start list is therefore welcome news.

It also adds another interesting question heading into Crete: after spending so much of the season away from major international competition, where will Andersen fit into this increasingly competitive generation of European racers?

Agios Nikolaos should give us an answer.

Katniss Paris brings US representation to Crete

The international dimension of the event is also illustrated by Katniss Paris travelling from the United States.

Paris is a name our readers will already know, and having young athletes willing to cross continents to compete is particularly important at a time when we frequently discuss how SUP racing can maintain its international relevance.

Australia’s Ivan Francis and South Africa’s Cameron Tripney further extend a field that reaches well beyond Europe.

Perhaps even more notable are the African delegations. Nigeria currently has seven athletes registered and Uganda three. That might not generate the same headlines as the established European SUP nations, but for the long-term international development of the sport it is an encouraging sign.

More than just another European Championship

The importance of Agios Nikolaos in 2026 goes beyond the number of entries.

This makes Agios Nikolaos one of the major international SUP gatherings of the year and an important stop on the road toward the ICF SUP World Championships in Sabaudia, Italy, in October.

The European Championships themselves are also taking an important step forward.

The first Paddle Europe SUP European Championships were held in Szeged in 2024 on a much smaller scale. For 2026, Junior, Open, Masters 40+ and Masters 50+ categories are being contested across Sprint, Technical and Long Distance, together with National Team events.

For athletes, this means European titles, World Cup racing and valuable international competition packed into less than a week.

A location worthy of a major SUP event

Then there is Agios Nikolaos itself.

Anyone who has followed the event over the years knows that this is not simply another buoy course on an anonymous body of water.

Crete provides exactly the kind of backdrop SUP racing needs.

The turquoise Mediterranean, the coastline around Agios Nikolaos and the iconic finish around Lake Voulismeni give the event an identity that is immediately recognizable in photos and video.

The Long Distance course makes particularly good use of the location. Under the planned north-wind configuration, athletes will race approximately 13.5 kilometres from Plaka Beach near Spinalonga to Lake Voulismeni in the heart of Agios Nikolaos.

That combination of open-water racing and a finish directly in town connects the sporting side of SUP with the spectacle needed to make an event attractive to spectators, media and sponsors.

And 2026 carries additional significance: Agios Nikolaos on SUP is celebrating ten years of bringing international paddle racing to Crete.

One of the key weeks of the 2026 SUP season

The final entry list may still change before registration officially closes, but the direction is already clear.

With more than 220 athletes, roughly 100 international competitors and representation stretching from Australia to Africa, North America and across Europe, Agios Nikolaos is assembling one of the most internationally diverse SUP fields we have seen this season.

More importantly, it brings much of the SUP community together in one place.

European titles are on the line. ICF World Cup points are on the line. Some of Europe’s strongest racers will meet athletes we have hardly seen this season. Young paddlers will race alongside established names. And only a few weeks later, many of them will meet again at the ICF World Championships in Italy.

For Stand Up Magazin, that makes Agios Nikolaos much more than another event on the calendar.

Crete will be one of the places to watch in September.

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