Cecilia Pampinella Sweeps All Three European SUP Titles in Crete

Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella completed a clean sweep of the Open Women’s programme at the 2026 Paddle Europe Stand Up Paddling Championships in Agios Nikolaos. She won Sprint and Technical before adding the Long Distance title on the final day, leaving Crete with all three European titles available in her category.

The championships ran over three days and awarded 21 official European titles across Open, Junior and Masters divisions. Italy finished at the top of the medal table ahead of host nation Greece after a programme that mixed explosive short racing with longer endurance competition.

Three disciplines reward different strengths

Sprint racing demands acceleration and clean technique over a very short course, while Technical racing adds turns, positioning and repeated changes of pace. Long Distance places more emphasis on endurance, efficiency and maintaining decision-making when fatigue builds.

Winning across all three therefore requires more than one specialist skill. Pampinella’s sweep is notable because she was able to carry speed and control through formats that ask very different questions of the athlete.

SUP racing is growing into a broad pathway

The championship included Junior and Masters categories alongside the Open racing, showing how stand-up paddling can support competitive goals across a wide age range. Participants can begin recreationally and later choose whether they want racing, touring, fitness or social paddling.

That flexibility is one of SUP’s strengths within the LBG small-craft world. A board is simple enough for casual use but can also become serious sporting equipment when the paddler wants to train and compete.

Crete provides a visible stage for paddling

Agios Nikolaos gives the championships a setting where the water is part of everyday coastal life rather than an isolated competition venue. The event also continued into an ICF SUP World Cup programme, extending the international paddling week beyond the European titles.

For LBG Lifestyle, that makes the story bigger than a results sheet. Major events can show recreational paddlers what is possible while giving coastal destinations another way to build activity around human-powered craft and time on the water.