The future of stand-up paddling took centre stage in Bascov, Romania, as the first-ever International Canoe Federation (ICF) event dedicated exclusively to junior SUP athletes welcomed the world’s top U14, U16 and U18 racers. More than just another competition, the inaugural 2026 ICF SUP Junior International Cup marked a groundbreaking step in the sport’s development, providing young athletes with their own international platform and setting a new benchmark for junior racing.
Held from 19-21 June at the world-class Bascov – Budeasa Regatta Course, the three-day event showcased the next generation of talent across Sprint, Technical and Long Distance disciplines. Italy emerged as the dominant nation, with Lisa Venturelli and Gianluca Corriero completing a remarkable clean sweep of all three individual disciplines in the U16 division. Romania’s Matei Barbu delighted the home crowd with a double gold in Sprint and Technical, “…while Japan’s Nagi Taguchi – following in the footsteps of his older brother Rai Taguchi, a two-time World SUP Champion – also claimed two titles, underlining the depth of emerging talent on display.
Beyond the medals, the Junior International Cup proved why dedicated pathways for young athletes matter. With elite racing infrastructure, international competition and the sport’s future all in one place, the inaugural event set a new standard for junior SUP and offered a glimpse of the champions who could define the next decade.
Lisa Venturelli, Italy
“The event was really well organised, not just because of the prize money. Everything was always on time, race registration was free, and the race setup was really professional (e.g. the sprint start gate, live race timing and heats, and the photo finish system).
It was unbelievable racing against so many athletes (in the U16 long distance there were 43 of us, 35 in tech, and similar numbers in sprint). Seeing Matei Barbu doing 22.4 in 100m was literally awesome. It’s crazy to think that an U18 could paddle like that. I think we can easily compete in the Open category at the ICF World Championships in Sabaudia.
Gianluca Corriero, Italy
We still don’t believe we won all three races. It really pays off all the work we’ve done, also with the help of our coach Davide Alpino. It’s really difficult to prepare for three races that are so different from each other – winning them is even more difficult.
The level of competition was high, but unfortunately there were a lot of juniors who didn’t come for the event, as there was a European SUP League (ESL) event being held at the same time (like Eliot, Ruben Cantoral, Bianca Toncelli, etc.). The Italian team did so well—all U16 men’s podium spots were Italian.
Nagi Taguchi was so impressive; he won both sprint and tech and even raced against us in the long distance.
Lisa and I, (U16 winners), recorded very similar times to Sveva Sabato and Matei Barbu (U18 winners) – 3:41 for men and 4:15 for women!”
Matei Barbu, Romania
“It’s been an amazing weekend that has exceeded my expectations by a lot. The level of the competitors was really, really high, no matter the age group. We’ve seen quite a few surprise appearances on the podium during this event, but also some pretty impressive triple golds in the U16 age category from two really strong riders.
About my personal experience, I can confidently say that these have been my best races ever across all three disciplines. From the sprint on Friday, where I improved my official best time by almost 2 seconds, to the tech race on Saturday, which showed me that I can keep my composure under pressure, to the long distance, where I made smarter decisions and even though I only got 7th place, I feel like I made the best race I could have.
I am extremely proud to have been able to win 2 out of the 3 races in front of my teammates, parents, coaches, and friends from all over the world.
It’s been an amazing competition, from which I hope everybody leaves with a few good memories. I can’t wait for the next edition, where I can help the organization, as sadly I won’t be a junior anymore.”
Nagi Taguchi, Japan
“I was initially losing in the sprint race, but I was so happy when I managed to come back and win.️”
“I am so happy that we were able to participate in this wonderful competition for juniors. Kano and Nagi’s growth during the race was amazing. But more than that, it was a wonderful experience that they will remember for a lifetime, as they were able to interact with children of the same age from various countries.
Up until now, my son Nagi had often participated in races as an afterthought to his older brother’s (Rai Taguchi) events. However, this competition was his main event, and I think winning it has given him a lot of confidence.
Kano loves watching SUP races and always watches Champions and World Tour on YouTube. I think competing on the world stage, achieving great results, and gaining attention has also boosted her confidence.
I am truly grateful to this race for giving my children the opportunity to grow.”
From left: Kano Yamanaka (Japan), Marrit Miedema (Netherlands), Giulia Basciano (Italy), Silvia Adamo (Italy) and Francesca Grimaldi (Italy)
“My best moments were when I crossed the finish line in all the races, and the time I spent with all my new international friends was incredibly precious and enjoyable!”
From left: Nagi, Selwyn Pricthard (Germany), Kano, Francesca Grimaldi (Italy) and Elin Van Der Sar (The Netherleands) | Photo by Sayaka Taguchi
Sprint Men U18 – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Matei Barbu (Romania) – 22.43
2nd Place – Tatsuma Nishikawa (Japan) – 24.64 (+2.20)
3rd Place – Manos Farsaris (Greece) – 25.19 (+2.76)
4th Place – Benyam Bossack (Germany) – 25.68 (+3.24)
5th Place – Maximus Sijrier (Netherlands) – 26.76 (+4.33)
Sprint Men U16 – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Gianluca Corriero (Italy) – 25.09
2nd Place – Giulio Lazzarini (Italy) – 25.26 (+0.17)
3rd Place – Leonardo Montanari (Italy) – 25.49 (+0.40)
4th Place – Alfie Gregory (Great Britain) – 26.01 (+0.92)
5th Place – Joan Gelabert (Spain) – 26.32 (+1.23)
Sprint U14 Men – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Nagi Taguchi (Japan) – 27.91
2nd Place – Nikolaos Butsadakis (Greece) – 28.34 (+0.43)
3rd Place – Noah Diaz (Spain) – 29.47 (+1.56)
4th Place – Vasileios Skarakis (Greece) – 30.12 (+2.21)
5th Place – Mylo van Bakel (Netherlands) – 30.42 (+2.51)
Sprint U18 Women – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Erasmia Malekaki (Greece) – 30.18
2nd Place – Claudia Postiglione (Italy) – 30.24 (+0.06)
3rd Place – Sveva Sabato (Italy) – 32.22 (+2.04)
4th Place – Valentina Piccini (Peru) – 35.77 (+5.58)
5th Place – Maria Jose Gomez (Peru) – 36.71 (+6.52)
Sprint U16 Women – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Lisa Venturelli (Italy) – 30.33
2nd Place – Daniela Cazorla (Spain) – 30.63 (+0.30)
3rd Place – Preziosa Chiarelli (Italy) – 30.76 (+0.43)
4th Place – Georgia Stamataki (Greece) – 30.94 (+0.61)
5th Place – Valerie Soukupova (Czech Republic) – 32.07 (+1.74)
Sprint U14 Women – 100m Sprints – Top 5
1st Place – Marrit Miedema (Netherlands) – 31.54
2nd Place – Kano Yamanaka (Japan) – 31.90 (+0.35)
3rd Place – Giulia Basciano (Italy) – 32.58 (+1.03)
4th Place – Silvia Adamo (Italy) – 33.44 (+1.89)
5th Place – Francesca Grimaldi (Italy) – 34.63 (+3.08)
Tech U18 Women – Top 5
1st Place – Sveva SABATO (Italy) – 4:14.07
2nd Place – Claudia POSTIGLIONE (Italy) – 4:20.32 (+6.25)
3rd Place – Erasmia MALEKAKI (Greece) – 4:25.17 (+11.10)
4th Place – Theodora KATSAVAVAKI (Greece) – 4:29.53 (+15.46)
5th Place – Valentina PICCINI (Peru) – 4:46.85 (+32.78)
Tech U18 Men – Top 5
1st Place – Matei BARBU (Romania) – 3:41.51
2nd Place – Maximus SIJRIER (Netherlands) – 3:46.58 (+5.07)
3rd Place – Matyas SOUKUP (Czech Republic) – 3:53.09 (+11.58)
4th Place – Manos FARSARIS (Greece) – 3:54.95 (+13.43)
5th Place – Tatsuma NISHIKAWA (Japan) – 3:58.55 (+17.04)
Tech U16 Women – Top 5
1st Place – Lisa VENTURELLI (Italy) – 4:15.04
2nd Place – Preziosa CHIARELLI (Italy) – 4:18.88 (+3.84)
3rd Place – Marin HOEBOER (Netherlands) – 4:25.54 (+10.49)
4th Place – Georgia STAMATAKI (Greece) – 4:26.96 (+11.92)
5th Place – Valerie SOUKUPOVA (Czech Republic) – 4:31.09 (+16.04)
Tech U16 Men – Top 5
1st Place – Gianluca CORRIERO (Italy) – 3:41.82
2nd Place – Leonardo MONTANARI (Italy) – 3:47.59 (+5.76)
3rd Place – Serse SABATO (Italy) – 3:53.88 (+12.06)
4th Place – Alfie GREGORY (Great Britain) – 3:56.48 (+14.66)
5th Place – Giulio LAZZARINI (Italy) – 4:00.58 (+18.75)
Tech U14 Women – Top 5
1st Place – Giulia BASCIANO (Italy) – 4:23.35
2nd Place – Marrit MIEDEMA (Netherlands) – 4:27.24 (+3.89)
3rd Place – Kano YAMANAKA (Japan) – 4:34.53 (+11.17)
4th Place – Francesca GRIMALDI (Italy) – 4:43.70 (+20.35)
5th Place – Lara SAMBAD (Spain) – 4:49.22 (+25.87)
Tech U14 Men – Top 5
1st Place – Nagi TAGUCHI (Japan) – 3:59.71
2nd Place – Nikolaos BUTSADAKIS (Greece) – 4:16.98 (+17.26)
3rd Place – Mylo VAN BAKEL (Netherlands) – 4:18.64 (+18.93)
4th Place – Nikolas SKARAKIS (Greece) – 4:25.07 (+25.35)
5th Place – Wiktor JAROC (Poland) – 4:28.65 (+28.93)
LD Women U18
LD Men U18
LD Women U16
LD Men U16
*Images courtesy of ICF SUP Junior International Cup
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