Six World Champions Crowned on Finals Day for Technical Races at the 2024 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship

Spain takes commanding Team Rankings lead with seven medals, led by Gold for Judit Verges and Duna Gordillo

Csillag-Virag Kocsis (HUN), Kotaro Miyahira (JPN), Rai Taguchi (JPN) and Andrew Byatt (ENG) win first Gold Medals

Copenhagen – September 18, 2024

Day two of the 2024 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC) was packed with back-to-back Technical Race Finals. Six World Champions were crowned at Copenhagen’s Amager Strandpark on a beautiful afternoon with great conditions. Light winds again allowed for fast races on the three-kilometer course that made use of a large amount of buoy turns to add a high element of technicality to the flat water.

Spain took a defining lead in the teams race, earning a haul of seven medals in total. With five medals, France held in second, barely ahead of Japan in third. The host nation of Denmark had great placings in many of the races, though they came slightly shy of any medals and finished the day in seventh on the rankings.

Junior SUP Technical Race sees two new Junior World Champions crowned

Following on from the legacy of the Hasulyo brothers, Csillag-Virag Kocsis was able to win Hungary their first ISA Gold Medal since 2018. Despite two early falls from Kocsis in the girl’s Junior SUP Technical Race, the 17-year-old was able to keep pace with Alexia Soto (ESP), the pair fighting for the lead for much of the course, with two-time defending champion Cecilia Pampinella (ITA) and two-time medalist Soryn Preston (USA) battling behind. Kocsis found a strong breakaway on the final lap, finishing nearly 18 seconds ahead of Soto, who won the Silver Medal, with Preston taking Bronze, Pampinella, Copper.

“I feel like this is the crown of my career so far,” Kocsis said. “It’s unbelievable that all those hard trainings, you know, early rises, all the sacrifices me and my family made throughout this journey. I feel like it’s finally worth it and I’m just super happy to be here.”

The four medalists in the boy’s Junior SUP Technical Race broke into a lead pack early and maintained their distance from the rest of the field throughout. Nicolo Ricco (ITA) led during the beginning stages, before Kotaro Miyahira (JPN) took over on the second lap, building an 11 second lead into a 23 second lead by lap three. Miyahira powered to finish strong, completing the three-kilometer flatwater race in 17 minutes, 33 seconds and winning Japan their first Gold Medal in the race. Two-time defending champion Vaic Garioud (FRA) spent much of the course battling Lluis Peroti (ESP), with Ricco’s initial lead slowing and the three finished fairly tight with Peroti taking the Silver Medal, Garioud, Bronze, and Ricco, Copper.

Three-in-a-row for Verges, first-ever WSUPPC Gold Medal for England in Paddleboard Technical Race

In similar fashion to the boy’s Junior SUP, the women’s Paddleboard Technical Race medalists set themselves apart as a tight pack, far ahead of the rest of the field. The lead changed multiple times between the four, but in the end the two-time defending champion, Judit Verges (ESP), made it three-in-a-row. In her second year competing, 19-year-old Elise Daudignon (FRA) was able to place runner-up and take the Silver Medal ahead of veterans Cornelia Rigatti (ITA) and Yurika Horibe (JPN).

Andrew Byatt (ENG) is no stranger to an ISA medal, having previously earned five, including two Silver Medals in 2023. The 44-year-old was extremely happy to add a Gold Medal to his collection, and become England’s first ISA WSUPPC World Champion, after winning the men’s Paddleboard Technical Race. Baptiste Cochard (FRA) stayed close with Byatt for much of the race, but a fall in transition cost him valuable time and allowed Byatt to take his winning break. Carlos Alonso (ESP) took the bronze medal, while Oisin McGrath won Ireland their first-ever WSUPPC medal, the Copper.

“It’s amazing to finally win that gold,” Byatt said. “You know, I know I’m not young. The guys on the team have been calling me the fossil. We’ve had a good atmosphere on the team, but they’ve all been saying, you can do this, you can do this all week. I kind of knew I could, but doing it is a different thing, isn’t it? And yeah, to finally get that is amazing. I think hopefully it gives other people hope that they can do it from England.”

Though he was born with full sight, Dean Dunbar (SCO) slowly lost his vision throughout his younger years before being declared blind at the age of 27. The 55-year-old received the loudest cheers of the day after completing the Paddleboard Technical Race in solid pace with the field.

“It was very pleasant,” a deadpan Dunbar joked. “No, it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. It’s been amazing today to do this race. The people here have been absolutely amazing. All the prone paddlers came up and said hello at the beginning and were very positive and helpful. It’s been fantastic. I really enjoyed it.”

Rai Taguchi and Duna Gordillo win first SUP Technical Race Gold Medals

It was an emotional win for Rai Taguchi (JPN), who claimed his first Gold Medal today in the men’s SUP Technical Race. The 20-year-old managed to finish ahead of a stacked field even after falling twice and catching up from far behind. Aaron Sanchez (ESP) maintained the lead for much of the time and finished a close second to take the Silver Medal, with Riccardo Rossi (ITA) and Clément Colmas (FRA) slightly further back in the Bronze and Copper Medal positions, respectively.

2022 SUP Distance Race Gold Medalist Duna Gordillo (ESP) claimed her first medal in the SUP Technical Race today. The 21-year-old has consistently battled for medals with her teammate Esperanza Barreras (ESP) in the Distance Race, but today the pair battled it out for the Gold Medal in the Technical Race. It was tight throughout the race between the two, as well as with Mariecarmen Rivera (PUR), but Gordillo managed to get the jump on the final stretch and win 3 seconds ahead of Barreras, the back-to-back defending champion, with Rivera another 3 seconds behind in third and Anais Guyomarch (FRA) a more distant fourth.

“I can’t believe it,” Gordillo said. “With Espe (Barreras), we always compete together and at the final whoever wins, wins. But yes, I like so much to compete with Espe and she is a strong woman. For me, Team Spain is always the best. We never win a World Cup but I think this is the year. We’re looking forward to the team relay tomorrow.”

Competition will resume tomorrow at Amager Strandpark at 2:00 pm CEST with the Team Relay.

RESULTS

Boy’s Junior SUP Technical Race
Gold – Kotaro Miyahira (JPN)
Silver – Lluis Peroti (ESP)
Bronze – Vaic Garioud (FRA)
Copper – Nicolo Ricco (ITA)

Girl’s Junior SUP Technical Race
Gold – Csillag-Virag Kocsis (HUN)
Silver – Alexia Soto (ESP)
Bronze – Soryn Preston (USA)
Copper – Cecilia Pampinella (ITA)

Men’s Paddleboard Technical Race
Gold – Andrew Byatt (ENG)
Silver – Baptiste Cochard (FRA)
Bronze – Carlos Alonso (ESP)
Copper – Oisin McGrath (IRL)

Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race
Gold – Judit Verges (ESP)
Silver – Elise Daudignon (FRA)
Bronze – Cornelia Rigatti (ITA)
Copper – Yurika Horibe (JPN)

Men’s SUP Technical Race
Gold – Rai Taguchi (JPN)
Silver – Aaron Sanchez (ESP)
Bronze – Riccardo Rossi (ITA)
Copper – Clément Colmas (FRA)

Women’s SUP Technical Race
Gold – Duna Gordillo (ESP)
Silver – Esperanza Barreras (ESP)
Bronze – Mariecarmen Rivera (PUR)
Copper – Anais Guyomarch (FRA)