Garioud wins second gold as Barreras defends crown in the long distance

Twenty-four hours after claiming back his men’s sprint crown, Garioud wins his first ever men’s long distance title in the ICF Stand Up Paddling (SUP) World Championships 2023 in Pattaya, Thailand.

The paddler from New Caledonia has previously won both the sprint and the technical events at earlier world championships and is thrilled to break through for his first distance crown at Jomtien Beach in Pattaya.

“I’ve been looking for this, my coach told me I could do it, but I didn’t really believe him because my thing was more sprinting,” Gerioud said.

“I felt a bit sore, to be honest, and after that race, I’m going to be even sorer. The Japanese were pushing really hard so it wasn’t easy to sit in their draft, but I tried to rest as much as possible, even though they didn’t make it easy. And then the sprint at the end, this is what I know to do best, I just tried that and it worked out.” Garioud, who also revealed after the race that his partner is expecting their first child, sits in third position during the 15 kilometre race behind the Japanese pairing of Shuri Araki and Rai Taguchi, before taking the lead in the final sprint to the beach.

The women’s race quickly developes into a race between four, but Barreras is spending most of the 15 kilometres leading the pack. As the group approaches final buoy, the Spaniard breaks away, leaving her teammate Duna Gordillo and American Kimberly Barnes in her wake.

“Being a world champion two times in a row, I’m really happy but I don’t quite believe it,” Barreras said. “I was trying to save some energy, but I felt good at the end and I trusted in all the work I had done to get here so I just pushed more and more. I wasn’t going to stop until I got to the finish line, and it worked for me.” Barnes finishes with the silver, with Gordillo third.

Results – Long Distance Finals

WOMEN’S OPEN

1. BARRERAS Esperanza (ESP) 01:43:44.57
2. BARNES Kimberly (USA) 01:43:58.26
3. GORDILLO Duna (ESP)  01:44:06.68

MEN’S OPEN

1. GARIOUD Noic (FRA) 01:29:36.17
2. ARAKI Shuri (JPN) 01:29:36.83
3. TAGUCHI Rai (JPN) 01:29:38.37 

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