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100 Meters to Glory: Andrey Kraytor’s Dual Race for Gold with Union Paddlers

Andrey Kraytor, the former canoe sprint world champion and now renowned SUP sprinter, is gearing up for the ICF SUP World Championships in Sarasota, Florida wearing multiple hats. With Union Paddlers offering their crucial rental service, athletes from across the globe will have access through Andredy Kraytor to top-tier gear, breaking down one of the main barriers to participation. This service not only increases accessibility in SUP racing but mirrors a model that has already proven its value in the world of kayak racing, where equipment rentals have long helped expand the sport’s reach.

As an athlete, Andrey Kraytor is coming off a strong performance, having claimed the bronze medal at the ICF SUP Worlds in Thailand last year on the 200-meter sprint but also the ECA European title and 2 other ICF wins in the Sprints in 2024. This year, with the sprint distance reduced to 100 meters—a format that could play to his strengths, particularly his explosive power under 30 seconds—he sees it as his best opportunity to claim gold. In this interview, Andrey reflects on the sport’s evolution, accessibility, and his journey toward what could be a historic win.

How has the year been for Union Paddlers so far? How many events have you provided rental services for, and how many boards were typically rented per event?

Hello TotalSUP, happy to chat with you again. The year isn’t over yet—we still have the ICF World Championship ahead—but overall, this year has been less eventful than the last. Several major independent events were canceled, and the Euro Tour calendar was spread over large distances for us. In total, we’ve supported five events, with one more still to go. For a few, we’ve provided boards through friends who helped with logistics.

I don’t think average numbers would be very meaningful here. Some events had only two boards rented, while at Agios, for the second year in a row, we had our largest event in Europe, with around 25 requests. But the logistics were challenging due to the distances involved.

For this year’s ICF SUP Worlds, we shipped about 100 boards to the U.S., and there are still some available. That’s 30% fewer than we had in Thailand last year though.

We’ve also formed a group of athletes who fully use our equipment for events and long-term rentals. This includes the Greek Club ATEOS with Stelios Moustakalis, and a few young athletes we’re supporting: Kyriaki (Rea) Logotheti, Andreas Voulgaris, Nikitas Tzanakis, and Chia

ra Vorster from South Africa, who joined us this season. We’re thrilled to help develop the next generation. Another achievement this year was shipping boards to Indonesia, where SUP became part of the National Games. The community there is growing fast, and we’re proud to be involved.

For this rental service to succeed, I understand you work closely with event organizers, ensuring they recognize the importance of making boards easily accessible. What are the key areas of collaboration with organizers?

I’d say to event organizers: let’s collaborate! Our services can increase participation and make the sport more accessible for riders from other continents. We’ve had several inquiries over the past year, including from Italy, and we worked with the team from Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. We have a great relationship with the Austrian community, but the main event that values our contribution is still the Agios Nikolaos ON SUP ICF World Cup.

Supporting logistics (to lower prices), promoting the service, and setting rental prices to cover costs… Sometimes, we don’t make a profit but do it for the love of the sport.

First and foremost, athletes should have access to top-quality equipment at reasonable prices anywhere in Europe. Event organizers will benefit from more participants, especially high-level athletes, which pushes SUP toward professional status and potentially the Olympics. Brands, too, will gain from equipment sales, which help us expand our service, update boards, and grow our fleet.

We need a roundtable where leaders from leagues, organizations, and major events can create a logical competition map and calendar. We also need a GLOBAL SUP athlete committee to act as a bridge between athletes and officials. It could be a brand or a legendary name in the sport who steps up to unify our SUP community. For now, we are all fragmented.

As for pricing, it depends on logistics, equipment costs, demand, and shipping. To be honest, we handle many events to keep the service going because we believe in our mission and love what we do. But without support, this won’t be sustainable for long. The only ones helping with logistics now are the Agios Nikolaos on SUP (ICF World Cup) and there Mikhalis and his team do a fantastic job, otherwise, rental prices would be higher, leading to fewer participants.

The SUP race gear rental service seems like a new branch of what has existed in kayaking for years with SPORTS CAMPS. Can you draw some parallels, and how do you see this rental model evolving in SUP?

There are definitely parallels. Both services aim to make the sport more accessible, and the geography of competitions has expanded. But the main difference is that Olympic sports have team representatives and funding sources. In SUP, we work with individual athletes, often using personal funds, so affordability and accessibility are key. We need that roundtable to collaborate and grow this service in the SUP world.

We’ve only seen you competing three times this year, but you’ve won the sprints each time. How did you plan your racing season?

I planned my season around the scale of events, locations, and sprint disciplines. Last year, I competed in about 10 events, but this year, being based in Indonesia, every event is a long and costly trip. Balancing that with my main job as a canoe coach for the Indonesian team has been challenging, but I’m grateful to the Indo family for their support. This might be my last season, but it seems to have inspired them too. Stelios Moustakalis has done an excellent job covering tasks when I can’t attend.

I’ve only competed in four events this year, all featuring sprints, and won three of them (e.d. Lake Rocks Festival, ECA European Championships, Agios Nikolaos on SUP). There’s one more to go.

For the first time, the ICF SUP World Championships featured the 100m sprint instead of the 200m. What’s your take on this change?

I’m adapting and adjusting, and I’m all for it. The 100-meter sprint is the real deal, with estimated times around 23-24 seconds for men. According to sports science, that’s a true sprint, while the 200 meters (around 46-50 seconds) leans toward speed endurance. If the 100-meter distance becomes the standard, we’ll see more specialization in SUP, and balancing sprint and technical events will become harder, which is great for the sport’s evolution.

In last year’s final, you led for the first 170m of the 200m final. Does winning the world title feel within reach for you this year?

In canoeing, I clocked around 38-39 seconds, the same time I survived in the 200m at SUP, but there’s no excuse—I wasn’t ready to win last year. Silver might have been possible, but I’m thrilled with my bronze. Being on the podium with legends like Conor and Noic was an honor. Winning the world title would be the ultimate bonus, but I’m just enjoying the sport and the competition.

I’ve heard you’ve started coaching SUP privately. Can you share more about that?

I’ve been coaching teams since 2018, in both SUP and canoeing. I started with PaddleMonster but I now coach privately on a limited basis—just five people at a time. It’s not about the money for me; I genuinely enjoy the process. I’m also open to traveling to conduct clinics because I love sharing my experience and learning from others.

Are you coached by anyone by the way, and how do they influence your performance?

My go-to coach is Larry Cain, an Olympic champion in canoe sprint. His insights into technique and his contributions to both canoeing and SUP are invaluable. Larry is like a living encyclopedia for paddlers, and I admire him greatly.

Thank you Andrey, I can’t wait to see you again in Sarasota, Florida at the 2024 ICF SUP Worlds!

For more you information on Union Paddlers / Sports Camps, check out:
www.unionpaddlers.com

About the Author

Mathieu Astier

Mathieu is the hyper-active founder of TotalSUP and a multilingual online marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience working for top international internet companies. His love-at-first-sight for Stand Up Paddling in 2013 led him to build one of the leading online media dedicated to SUP in English and French and to turn his family lifestyle towards the ocean.

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