Noic Garioud recovered from the disappointment of failing to defend the sprint title by capturing the technical crown at the International Canoe Federation Stand Up Paddling World Championships.
After missing out on a place in the sprint final on Friday, the Frenchman responded in the best possible way on Saturday by clinching technical gold.
Garioud held off Japan’s Shuri Araki and Spain’s Manuel Hoyuela to win the title in 3:51.97.
It is Garioud’s second technical crown and first since 2021 and his fifth world title of his career across all the SUP events.
“It feels amazing,” said Garioud.
“I had such a bad day yesterday and was really disappointed with the sprint as I didn’t make it to the final.
“But today I came back with a gold so I could not have hoped for better than that. I am super happy.”
Araki sealed silver in 3:54.33, pushing Hoyuela into third spot as the Spaniard clocked 3:54.65.
Duna Gordillo announced herself as the new Spanish queen of the technical race with an impressive victory in Sarasota.
The 21-year-old paddler dethroned compatriot and defending champion Esperanza Barreras to take the women’s technical title in stunning fashion.
Barreras was bidding to repeat her 2023 success but could not match the brilliance of Gordillo who swept to the gold medal.
Gordillo triumphed in 4:35.97 as Barreras finished seven seconds behind her in second position.
Alba Alonso Frey was hoping to make it a Spanish one-two-three but had to settle for fourth as Japan’s Rika Okuaki ranked third in 4:48.41.
“I am so happy about my race,” said Gordillo.
“There were a lot of strong women in this final so I have to thank all my team that supports me all the time.”
In the junior races, Hungary’s Csillag Kocsis and Japan’s Nariakira Shimazu emerged victorious.
Kocsis came out on top in the women’s final with a time of 4:26.81.
Italy’s Cecilia Pampinella secured silver in 4:31.67, while Soryn Preston of the United States bagged bronze in 4:43.49.
Shimazu captured men's gold after crossing in 4:08.84 as Italy’s Nicolo Ricco claimed silver in 4:12.03 and France’s Simon Ackermann sealed bronze in 4:17.56.
Japan’s Ryohei Yoshida added to his sprint success on Friday by retaining the men’s masters over 40 technical crown.
Yoshida took the title in 4:17.26 as Argentina’s Francisco Giusti crossed in 4:20.34 for silver and Japan’s Takahiro Kashiwabara registered 4:22.29 for bronze.
Petronella van Malsen of the Netherlands defended the women’s masters over 40 technical title after powering to victory in 4:50.04.
Argentina’s Juliana Gonzalez finished second in 4:59.57 with Canada’s Edith Turcotte collecting bronze in 5:11.54.
The men’s masters over 50 technical title was won by Germany’s Peter Weidert who sealed top spot in 4:18.22.
Weidert got the better of two Americans in Steve Miller and Packet Casey who finished in 4:19.24 and 4:25.71 respectively for the other two podium places.
Greece’s Penny Tsaoutou was crowned women’s masters over 50 technical champion after winning in 5:09.75.
China’s Jie Tao was second in 5:16.42, while Czechia’s Katerina Trdlova finished in 5:20.49 for bronze.
All of Saturday’s technical results can be found here.
Pictures by Romain Bruneau.
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