European SUP Championships 2026: Christian Andersen’s Golden Comeback and Cecilia Pampinella’s Triple Triumph

Christian Andersen, aka Polarbear, returned to European SUP racing with two gold medals after barely competing throughout the 2026 season. Meanwhile, Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella dominated the women’s field, winning all three European titles at the Paddle Europe SUP Championships in Agios Nikolaos, Greece.

The 2026 Paddle Europe SUP Championships brought three days of racing to the beautiful coastal town of Agios Nikolaos on the Greek island of Crete from September 18–20. Following the inaugural championships in Szeged, Hungary, in 2024, Europe’s leading stand-up paddle athletes gathered for the second edition to compete in Sprint, Technical and Long Distance racing.

The event attracted 143 athletes from 19 countries on the opening day, while more than 160 athletes representing 21 nations competed in Sunday’s Long Distance race.

With the Mediterranean Sea providing a spectacular backdrop, the championships delivered close finishes, unexpected victories and two dominant performances that defined the weekend.

Christian Andersen: Polarbear returns with two European gold medals

One of the biggest stories of the championships was the remarkable return of Denmark’s Christian Andersen.

Better known as Polarbear, Andersen had competed very little throughout the 2026 season. However, his lack of racing certainly didn’t show in Agios Nikolaos.

The Danish athlete opened his campaign with fourth place in the 100 m Sprint, narrowly missing the podium.

On Saturday, Andersen successfully defended the European Technical title he had won in Szeged in 2024. In a thrilling battle with the Netherlands’ Donato Freens, Andersen crossed the finish line in 5:30.340, just 1.040 seconds ahead of his rival.

The following day, Polarbear delivered again.

In the 14 km Long Distance race, Andersen held off Spain’s Manuel Hoyuela and Greece’s Anastasios Tsouris to claim his second European title in just two days.

His winning time of 1:18:52.773 put him 59 seconds ahead of Hoyuela.

Two European gold medals after a season with very little racing made Christian Andersen’s comeback one of the defining stories of Agios Nikolaos 2026.

Cecilia Pampinella dominates with three European titles

While Andersen collected two gold medals in the men’s competition, Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella went one step further.

The Italian athlete completed a clean sweep of all three Open Women’s disciplines, leaving Greece with three European gold medals.

Pampinella opened her campaign with a convincing Sprint victory, finishing in 26.874 seconds ahead of Poland’s Hanna Kaminska and Marta Apanasewicz.

She continued her winning streak in Saturday’s Technical Race, finishing more than five seconds ahead of Apanasewicz, with fellow Italian Claudia Postiglione taking bronze.

On Sunday, Pampinella completed her triple triumph in the Long Distance race, crossing the finish line in 1:31:19.705.

Postiglione secured silver, while Natalia Novitskaia, the defending European Long Distance champion from 2024, finished third.

Pampinella was the only athlete to win all three individual Open titles at the 2026 European SUP Championships.

European SUP Championships 2026: Race Results and Highlights

Day 1 – Sprint: Matei Barbu surprises the men’s field

The championships opened on Friday, September 18, with the explosive 100 m Sprint at EOT Beach.

Romania’s Matei Barbu produced the biggest surprise of the opening day. Still eligible to compete as a Junior, Barbu chose to enter the Open division and defeated an experienced international field.

His winning time of 21.915 seconds put him just 0.126 seconds ahead of Lithuania’s Vadim Korobov. Spain’s Manuel Hoyuela completed the podium.

Christian Andersen finished fourth, followed by Donato Freens in fifth.

In the women’s race, Cecilia Pampinella secured her first gold medal of the weekend, with Poland celebrating a double podium finish through Hanna Kaminska and Marta Apanasewicz.

Sprint 100 m – Open Men Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Matei Barbu	Romania	21.915
2	Vadim Korobov	Lithuania	22.041
3	Manuel Hoyuela	Spain	22.688
4	Christian Andersen	Denmark	22.945
5	Donato Freens	Netherlands	23.611
6	Mikolaj Majdan	Poland	23.788
7	Phaedon Doukas	Greece	24.922
8	Anton Birkicht	Germany	25.948

Sprint 100 m – Open Women Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Cecilia Pampinella	Italy	26.874
2	Hanna Kaminska	Poland	27.848
3	Marta Apanasewicz	Poland	28.708
4	Skadi Langbein	Germany	29.005
5	Claudia Postiglione	Italy	29.028
6	Natalia Novitskaia	AIN	29.118
7	Kyriaki Logotheti	Greece	29.998
8	Linda Syrovatkova	Czechia	33.478

Day 2 – Technical: Andersen and Pampinella take gold

Saturday’s 1000 m Technical Race brought a completely different challenge, with tight buoy turns, tactical positioning and winds of approximately 12 km/h testing the athletes’ skills.

In the men’s final, Christian Andersen and Donato Freens established themselves at the front of the field. Andersen eventually pulled clear to defend his European title, with Freens taking silver and Manuel Hoyuela collecting his second bronze medal of the championships.

The two leading athletes were separated by just over one second at the finish.

Cecilia Pampinella continued her impressive run in the women’s race, securing her second gold medal. Marta Apanasewicz finished second, just ahead of Claudia Postiglione.

Greece’s Kyriaki Logotheti had been in contention for a podium position before losing valuable time following contact with a buoy. She eventually finished fourth.

Technical 1000 m – Open Men Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Christian Andersen	Denmark	5:30.340
2	Donato Freens	Netherlands	5:31.380
3	Manuel Hoyuela	Spain	5:38.637
4	Mikolaj Majdan	Poland	5:45.905
5	Phaedon Doukas	Greece	5:48.239
6	Anastasios Tsouris	Greece	5:54.069
7	Matei Barbu	Romania	6:02.204
8	Pedro Araújo	Portugal	6:17.643

Technical 1000 m – Open Women Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Cecilia Pampinella	Italy	6:35.112
2	Marta Apanasewicz	Poland	6:40.293
3	Claudia Postiglione	Italy	6:40.856
4	Kyriaki Logotheti	Greece	6:56.867
5	Skadi Langbein	Germany	6:58.175
6	Natalia Novitskaia	AIN	7:13.643
7	Hanna Kaminska	Poland	7:18.044
8	Athanasia Karaindrou	Greece	7:24.656

Day 3 – Long Distance: A spectacular finish in Lake Voulismeni

The final day brought the athletes onto a spectacular 14 km course from Plaka Beach across the Gulf of Mirabello, with the historic island of Spinalonga providing an impressive backdrop.

The finish line was located in Lake Voulismeni, right in the heart of Agios Nikolaos.

With more than 160 participants from 21 countries, the race served as both the European Championship Long Distance event and a SUP World Cup competition, with separate classifications for the two competitions.

Andersen completes his golden comeback

In the Open Men’s race, Christian Andersen completed his golden comeback, taking victory ahead of Manuel Hoyuela.

The battle for the remaining podium positions was particularly close. Greece’s Anastasios Tsouris finished just 7.908 seconds ahead of Donato Freens, who narrowly missed out on a medal.

Hoyuela’s silver medal capped an exceptionally consistent weekend for the Spaniard, who reached the podium in all three disciplines.

Pampinella completes the triple crown

In the women’s race, Cecilia Pampinella completed her clean sweep with another convincing victory.

Claudia Postiglione took silver, giving Italy the top two positions, while Natalia Novitskaia finished third.

Greece’s Kyriaki Logotheti placed fourth, matching her result from Saturday’s Technical Race.

Long Distance 14 km – Open Men Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Christian Andersen	Denmark	1:18:52.773
2	Manuel Hoyuela	Spain	1:19:51.815
3	Anastasios Tsouris	Greece	1:19:59.724
4	Donato Freens	Netherlands	1:20:06.030
5	Phaedon Doukas	Greece	1:24:21.918
6	Mikolaj Majdan	Poland	1:24:33.050
7	Paulo Freitas	Portugal	1:25:35.396
8	Matei Barbu	Romania	1:26:06.157
9	Nikos Varlas	Greece	1:28:28.129
10	Pedro Araújo	Portugal	1:32:18.194

Long Distance 14 km – Open Women Results

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Cecilia Pampinella	Italy	1:31:19.705
2	Claudia Postiglione	Italy	1:33:27.637
3	Natalia Novitskaia	AIN	1:33:41.914
4	Kyriaki Logotheti	Greece	1:35:12.681
5	Csillag Kocsis	Hungary	1:36:20.784
6	Athanasia Karaindrou	Greece	1:43:05.017
7	Anastasia Pomorina	AIN	1:43:25.682
8	Eleni Giakoumaki	Greece	1:45:22.032
9	Linda Syrovatkova	Czechia	1:47:41.799
10	Katerina Lantzanaki	Greece	1:48:22.783

Manuel Hoyuela and Donato Freens deliver strong performances

Beyond the two dominant champions, several athletes delivered noteworthy performances throughout the weekend.

Spain’s Manuel Hoyuela was the only Open Men’s athlete to reach the podium in all three disciplines, collecting two bronze medals and one silver. His consistency across Sprint, Technical and Long Distance underlined his versatility as a SUP racer.

The Netherlands’ Donato Freens, who secured the inaugural European SUP League season title earlier in September, also delivered a strong performance. Freens finished fifth in Sprint, took silver in Technical and narrowly missed the Long Distance podium in fourth.

Romania’s Matei Barbu provided the biggest surprise of the opening day with his Sprint victory, demonstrating that the next generation of European SUP racers is already capable of challenging the established names.

In the women’s field, Italy’s Claudia Postiglione improved throughout the weekend, moving from fifth in Sprint to bronze in Technical and silver in Long Distance.

The host nation also had reason to celebrate. Anastasios Tsouris secured Long Distance bronze, while Phaedon Doukas finished inside the top five in both Technical and Long Distance. Kyriaki Logotheti placed fourth in both disciplines for the women.

Agios Nikolaos delivers a memorable European SUP Championships

The 2026 Paddle Europe SUP Championships brought together Europe’s leading paddlers for three days of competition in one of the Mediterranean’s most scenic SUP racing destinations.

From Matei Barbu’s surprise Sprint victory to Christian Andersen’s golden return and Cecilia Pampinella’s remarkable triple triumph, Agios Nikolaos delivered a memorable second edition of the European Championships.

For Andersen, the event marked a spectacular return to the top of European racing after a largely inactive season. For Pampinella, it was a demonstration of her versatility across all three disciplines.

With five individual Open European titles awarded across the three disciplines, Andersen and Pampinella leave Greece as the defining champions of the 2026 event.