2026 SUP World Championships day 2: Kocsis and Rivera fastest in technical race heats
- Published
- 2026-10-15T17:44:43+00:00
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- PaddleStats
Full competition results: ICF Stand Up Paddling World Championships - Sabaudia
Hungary's Csillag Kocsis and defending champion Mariecarmen Rivera set the two fastest times in the open women's technical heats on day two of the 2026 ICF Stand Up Paddling World Championships in Sabaudia, with Kocsis just 0.58 seconds quicker. Kocsis won heat 5 in 5:18.66, while Rivera took heat 3 in 5:19.24. Rivera now faces a demanding semi-final alongside Cecilia Pampinella and Poland's Hanna Kamińska, with just two places in Final A available to the eight paddlers.
Day two in numbers: 105 technical races, 496 starters
Thursday's programme on Lago di Paola was devoted to the technical race, held over a course of approximately 900 metres with turns around buoys. The schedule featured 105 races, with the first start at 8:00 and the last at 17:55. A total of 496 athletes took part: paddlers representing 46 countries, six neutral athletes (AIN) and one competitor racing under the Paddle Worldwide flag. They made 748 starts between them, with some paddlers contesting two rounds. Spain had the largest contingent on the water with 84 athletes, followed by Italy with 44 and France with 33. Poland had 28 starters. These figures exclude entries marked DNS — athletes who did not start.
No medals were awarded on Thursday, which featured preliminary rounds and heats ahead of Saturday's technical semi-finals and finals. The open women contested a single qualifying round, with eight heats starting between 14:00 and 14:35. The top four in each advanced to the semi-finals. All times in this article are local to Sabaudia.
| Open women's technical race, heat winners | Country | Time | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Csillag Kocsis | Hungary | 5:18.66 | 5 |
| Mariecarmen Rivera | Puerto Rico | 5:19.24 | 3 |
| Duna Gordillo | Spain | 5:24.20 | 2 |
| Juliette Duhaime | Argentina | 5:27.12 | 4 |
| Natalia Novitskaia | AIN | 5:31.70 | 1 |
| Marta Apanasewicz | Poland | 5:34.43 | 8 |
| Alexia Soto | Spain | 5:41.37 | 7 |
| Brianna Orams | New Zealand | 5:45.77 | 6 |
Qualification is the priority in technical heats, and a paddler with a comfortable lead may have little reason to push flat out. Times from separate races therefore need to be treated with caution. Rivera won her heat by 10.37 seconds from Alba Alonso Frey, while Kocsis finished 4.93 seconds ahead of Spain's Esperanza Barreras.
Rivera and Kocsis set the pace
Rivera arrived in Sabaudia as the reigning world champion in all three disciplines, having swept the sprint, technical and long-distance titles in Abu Dhabi last year. In the technical final, she beat Duna Gordillo by 5.32 seconds, with Alonso Frey third and Juliette Duhaime fourth. All four finished first or second in their heats on Thursday. Gordillo, listed by the organiser under her second surname, Rodríguez, won heat 2 in 5:24.20, 8.86 seconds clear of Pampinella. Argentina's Duhaime took heat 4 in 5:27.12.
Kocsis, however, posted the fastest time of the session. Starting heat 5 at 14:20, she completed the course 0.58 seconds quicker than Rivera had ten minutes earlier. The Hungarian also qualified for the sprint semi-finals on Wednesday and will line up alongside Kamińska in Friday's third semi-final.
Heat 1 was won by Natalia Novitskaia, who races as a neutral athlete, in 5:31.70. Behind her came Spain's Amelia Moral in 5:39.87 and Kamińska in 5:41.49, with Italy's Laura Nitti fourth.
Apanasewicz wins, Kamińska third
Marta Apanasewicz won the final women's heat, scheduled for 14:35, in 5:34.43. She finished 4.70 seconds clear of Great Britain's Annabel Page and was sixth-fastest among the eight heat winners.
Kamińska progressed in third place. Born in 2007, she was still competing as a junior last year. She has also qualified for the sprint semi-finals in Sabaudia, posting the second-fastest time in Wednesday's open women's heats at 28.39 seconds.
Saturday's semi-finals: Rivera, Pampinella and Kamińska together
The open women's semi-finals begin at 14:20 on Saturday. The top two in each will qualify for Final A at 17:45, with third and fourth going to Final B and fifth and sixth to Final C. The remaining paddlers will be eliminated.
| Semi-final | Start | Selected starters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:20 | Kocsis, Novitskaia, Skadi Langbein, Annabel Page |
| 2 | 14:25 | Gordillo, Barreras, Moral, Rika Okuaki |
| 3 | 14:30 | Rivera, Pampinella, Kamińska, Alexia Soto |
| 4 | 14:35 | Apanasewicz, Alonso Frey, Duhaime, Lucía Clembosky |
Semi-final 3 brings together Rivera, Pampinella and Kamińska. Pampinella won both the European Championship and World Cup sprints in Agios Nikolaos in September, with Kamińska second on both occasions. At least one of the three will miss out on Final A. Spain's Alexia Soto, fourth in last year's junior technical final, is also in the line-up after winning heat 7 in 5:41.37.
Semi-final 4 also has a strong field. Apanasewicz faces Alonso Frey and Duhaime, third and fourth in last year's Abu Dhabi final, as well as Argentina's Lucía Clembosky, who finished third in heat 2 on Thursday.
Men: Korobov fastest, Garioud and Baxter race twice
The open men's main heats take place on Saturday, when 32 seeded paddlers will enter the competition. The rest of the field contested Thursday's preliminary rounds. The first round comprised ten races starting at 11:00, with the top six in each advancing. The second round began at 17:20, with the top four in each of eight races qualifying for Saturday's heats.
Lithuania's Vadim Korobov was fastest in the second round, winning race 6 in 4:48.66, 0.75 seconds ahead of Spain's Fernando Pérez. Korobov also topped the open men's sprint heat times on Wednesday with 23.24 seconds.
| Open men's technical race, second preliminary round | Country | Time | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vadim Korobov | Lithuania | 4:48.66 | 6 |
| Fernando Pérez | Spain | 4:49.41 | 6 |
| Itzel Delgado | Peru | 4:54.50 | 7 |
| Noïc Garioud | France | 4:54.67 | 8 |
| Kotaro Miyahira | Japan | 4:56.00 | 8 |
| Santino Basaldella | Argentina | 4:56.76 | 1 |
Two former sprint world champions had to navigate both rounds. France's Noïc Garioud, the champion in 2021 and 2023, won both of his races, clocking 4:54.67 in the second. The United States' Connor Baxter, champion in 2019 and 2022, finished second in race 4 of the second round, 5.10 seconds behind Spain's Iván Puente. Puente had set the fastest time of the morning round at 4:16.15 — 32.51 seconds quicker than the best time in the afternoon. That gap alone does not establish who performed better across the two sessions.
Defending champion waits for Saturday
Aarón Sánchez, the 2025 technical world champion, is seeded and will begin his title defence in heat 2 at 11:10 on Saturday. The two Japanese paddlers who joined him on the podium in Abu Dhabi also bypassed the preliminary rounds. Silver medallist Shuri Araki is in heat 4 alongside sprint world champion Sergio Cantoral, while bronze medallist Rai Taguchi is in heat 3. Manuel Hoyuela, the top seed in the sprint, lines up in the opening heat at 11:05. The first four in each heat advance to the semi-finals, which start at 14:40. The men's Final A is scheduled for 17:55.
Polish open men miss out in the preliminary rounds
None of the four Polish open men who raced on Thursday qualified for Saturday. Krystian Świerkowski was third in his first-round race in 4:28.27, then fifth in the second round in 5:08.60, 8.12 seconds outside the final qualifying place. Maciej Bartos, who secured a sprint semi-final place on Wednesday, finished fourth in his first race and seventh in his second. Maciej Dąbrowa also progressed from the first round but finished eighth in the second, while Kacper Pruchnik was eliminated in the opening round.
Poland will nevertheless have two representatives in Saturday's open men's heats, both seeded: Mikołaj Majdan in heat 7 at 11:35 and Piotr Hertel in heat 1 at 11:05, alongside Hoyuela.
Juniors: Hirata fastest, four Polish women advance
Japan's Otono Hirata set the fastest junior women's time, winning heat 6 in 5:30.71. Spain's Bianca Toncelli was next quickest, taking heat 4 in 5:34.86. Defending champion Sveva Sabato of Italy won heat 7 in 5:48.58, while last year's silver medallist, Greece's Erasmia Malekaki, finished second in heat 8 behind Italy's Claudia Postiglione, the reigning junior sprint champion.
Four of Poland's five junior women reached Saturday's semi-finals. Emilia Daszewska finished second in heat 1 in 5:49.96, behind Czechia's Pavlína Kaňková. Martyna Drobny was the fastest of the Polish paddlers, taking third in heat 6 in 5:48.69. Matylda Morawska was third in heat 5 and Lena Nowak fourth in heat 7. Nina Janas was eliminated after finishing fifth in heat 8. Daszewska, Drobny and Nowak also qualified for the sprint semi-finals on Wednesday.
Romania's Matei Barbu, the fastest paddler across all categories in Wednesday's sprint racing, topped the junior men's second preliminary round with a winning time of 4:55.95. Japan's Tatsuma Nishikawa, the defending junior technical champion, won race 6 in 4:57.36. No Polish junior man advanced from the preliminary rounds: Jakub Kubiak was fifth in his second-round race and Michał Wojciechowski seventh, while Mateusz Troczyński did not start in the first round. Poland still has two seeded juniors in Saturday's heats, however: Miłosz Sytnik at 10:25 and Kacper Jaroc at 10:45.
Masters: Cieplińska into the semi-finals
The masters categories opened Thursday's programme at 8:00. In the 40+ women's heats, the top three in each of seven races qualified for the semi-finals, along with the three fastest fourth-placed finishers. The Netherlands' Petronella van Malsen posted the quickest time, winning heat 4 in 5:46.68. Italy's Claudia Luchetta, the fastest masters woman in Wednesday's sprint heats, won heat 1.
Poland's Małgorzata Cieplińska finished second in heat 6 in 6:05.01 to secure a technical semi-final place alongside her sprint qualification. Malwina Grochowska was fourth in heat 4 in 6:24.87, but her time was not quick enough to claim one of the three additional places.
Four Polish masters men qualified for Saturday's heats. In the 40+ class, Paweł Uram and Damian Bartos finished third in their second-round races, while Tytus Smoliński was second. Andrzej Siewierski took fourth in his 50+ race. In all, 11 Polish paddlers qualified from Thursday's racing for Saturday. Four seeded compatriots will also be in action: Majdan and Hertel in the open men's heats, and Sytnik and Jaroc in the juniors.
What's next: sprint finals on Friday, technical finals on Saturday
Sprint racing resumes on Friday. The open women's semi-finals begin at 10:53 and the men's at 11:08, followed by their respective A finals at 16:00 and 16:10. Kamińska races in semi-final 3 at 10:59 and Apanasewicz in semi-final 4 at 11:02. Wednesday's sprint action is covered in our day-one recap.
The technical competition concludes on Saturday. In the open categories, the men's heats begin at 11:05, followed by the women's semi-finals at 14:20 and the men's at 14:40. Their C and B finals start at 16:15, with the A finals scheduled for 17:45 (women) and 17:55 (men). Sunday's long-distance races will cover approximately 12 km, according to the organiser's final information bulletin. Our preview introduces the defending champions in all three disciplines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was fastest in the open women's technical race heats in Sabaudia?
Csillag Kocsis of Hungary, with 5:18.66 in heat 5. Mariecarmen Rivera, the defending champion, was next with 5:19.24 in heat 3.
When are the technical race finals at the 2026 SUP World Championships?
On Saturday 17 October. The open women's Final A is scheduled for 17:45 and the open men's Final A for 17:55 local time. Their semi-finals begin at 14:20 and 14:40 respectively.
Why are Rivera, Pampinella and Kamińska all in one semi-final?
Semi-final places are allocated according to a fixed progression scheme based on heat number and finishing position. The winner of heat 3 (Rivera), runner-up in heat 2 (Pampinella) and third-placed paddler in heat 1 (Kamińska) all go into semi-final 3 at 14:30. Only the top two qualify for Final A, so at least one of the three will miss the medal race. Third and fourth qualify for Final B, fifth and sixth for Final C, and the remaining paddlers are eliminated.
Did Kamińska and Apanasewicz reach the technical semi-finals?
Yes. Apanasewicz won heat 8 in 5:34.43 and races semi-final 4. Kamińska was third in heat 1 in 5:41.49 and races semi-final 3.
Did the defending men's technical champion race on Thursday?
No. Aarón Sánchez is seeded and starts in heat 2 on Saturday at 11:10. The seeded men skipped both preliminary rounds.
Which former sprint champions had to race the preliminary rounds?
Noïc Garioud and Connor Baxter. Garioud won both of his races and Baxter finished second in the second round, so both start in Saturday's heats.
How many Poles reached the next round on Thursday?
Eleven: Kamińska and Apanasewicz, four junior women, Małgorzata Cieplińska in the 40+ women's class and four masters men. Four other Polish paddlers are seeded into Saturday's heats: Mikołaj Majdan and Piotr Hertel in the open men, and Miłosz Sytnik and Kacper Jaroc in the juniors.
What is raced on Friday?
Sprint semi-finals take place in the morning and finals in the afternoon. The open women's Final A is scheduled for 16:00 and the men's for 16:10.
Rivera heads into Saturday with the second-fastest heat time, just 0.58 seconds behind Kocsis. To race for another technical gold at the ICF SUP World Championships at 17:45, she must first finish in the top two of a semi-final that also features Pampinella and Hanna Kamińska.