When SUP stands alongside canoe and kayak at a national event of this calibre, the paddling community can both acknowledge its significance and celebrate by joining in. Brought by The Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association, in partnership with the National Association of Professional Divers of Romania (ANSPSR), the second edition of the Ivan Patzaichin International Canoe Marathon brings together kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddle enthusiasts in an event that honours both athletic performance and the enduring spirit of one of Romania’s greatest athletes.
Held from 22 – 24 May, the marathon also marks the official opening of the tourist season in the Danube Delta. Participants will paddle along the “Ivan’s Delta” ecotourism route, linking the Ivan Patzaichin Memorial in Tulcea with the recently inaugurated Ivan Patzaichin Museum in Mila 23 – a journey that blends sport with cultural tribute.
Spanning 45 kilometers, the course is designed to be inclusive, welcoming both elite competitors and lovers of nature and adventure. Participants can choose between two experiences: an Elite category, offering an intense one-day endurance test for seasoned athletes, or a leisure category, a two-day immersive journey that invites paddlers to explore the Delta’s unique landscapes at a more relaxed pace.
We caught up with Race Director Raluca Munteanu to discuss the highlights of this year’s marathon and what makes it such a unique event.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
Ivan Patzaichin was, quite simply, the champion – one of the most decorated athletes in the world and the embodiment of a uniquely Romanian story. He came from Mila 23, a remote village tucked within the labyrinth of reeds in the Danube Delta. At sixteen, he was learning the fisherman’s trade, following the same path as his father. By eighteen, he was standing on an Olympic podium.
Over five consecutive Olympic Games, from Mexico City in 1968, Munchen in 1972, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984, he accumulated seven Olympic medals, four of them gold, while also dominating eleven World Championships. The International Olympic Committee honoured him with the Olympic Order in Silver in 1990 – a recognition that transcends sport and enters the realm of cultural legacy. But what makes Ivan truly singular is what he did after the medals.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
He spent over 25 years coaching, guiding new generations to more than 150 medals across Olympic, World, and European competitions. And then, in 2010, he reinvented himself again – this time as a social entrepreneur and visionary, creating Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 NGO, championing the sustainable development of the Danube Delta’s communities, creating the iconic canotca rowing boat, and even launching PATZAIKIN, an eco-fashion brand rooted in the harmony between humanity and nature.
This is precisely why this marathon is not merely a race. Every stroke taken on that 45-kilometer route from Tulcea to Mila 23 – from the Memorial bearing his name to the Museum that now preserves his story – is a conversation with that philosophy. The course itself is a tribute: it connects the man to his origins, the athlete to the ecosystem that forged him.
This is the spirit that fills this event – the freedom on the water, in one of Europe’s last true wilderness sanctuaries, in the wake of a man who showed the world what it means to paddle with both power and grace.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
What sets this course apart – both as an athletic challenge and as an act of remembrance – is the rare convergence of natural complexity and personal history.
From a sporting perspective, the 45-kilometre route from Tulcea to Mila 23 is unlike any conventional flatwater race. The Delta is not a controlled environment – it is a living, unpredictable one and paddlers must navigate narrow channels, shifting currents and winds, demanding physical endurance, technical skills and constant adaptation.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
Then, there is the symbolic dimension that gives this race its singular character. The route begins at the Ivan Patzaichin Memorial in Tulcea and ends in Mila 23, where he first learned to paddle as a child, and where the Museum honouring his legacy now stands.
The course does not simply pass through the Delta; it traces the arc of a life – back to Mila 23, the Delta village where Ivan was born. Every stroke brings competitors closer to the place where one of Romania’s greatest champions began his journey – making each kilometre, in the truest sense, a tribute.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
For us, the €30,000 prize pool is far more than a financial incentive; it is a meritocratic tribute to the standard of excellence set by Ivan Patzaichin. To honour a legacy of that magnitude, we felt the competition itself had to command the same level of respect on the international stage. We want to attract the Elite athletes who possess the same ‘grit and grace’ that defined Ivan Patzaichin’s career. This 45 km course requires a special dedication, and we believe that professional effort deserves professional recognition and validation.
It is in the same time a statement: The Danube Delta can be a premier arena for professional sport. By elevating the prestige of the marathon, we draw global attention to our broader mission: the ‘Ivan’s Delta’ ecotourism route and the preservation of this fragile ‘paradise’.
We are proving that sustainable tourism and high-performance sport can exist in perfect symbiosis, high-performance sport can be a powerful engine for sustainable tourism, anchoring Ivan’s legacy in a way that brings tangible energy and fresh life into Danube Delta and sets a new standard for the region’s future.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
We chose this format deliberately; having both the Elite and leisure categories, we aren’t just hosting a race, we are creating an inclusive ecosystem for the paddling community.
For Elite paddlers, the one-day, 45-kilometre course is a test of endurance. For Leisure participants, the distance is identical – but spread across two days, with a night spent in the wilderness of the Delta. We provide the professionals with the prestige they seek and the nature and adventure enthusiasts with the beauty of nature at a different pace.
Those who come from a love of nature and paddling discover here the taste of performance. Those who come from competition and physical limits rediscover nature in one of its most untouched and genuine forms.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
Tulcea is a city of extraordinary, understated character. It has been a living harbour since antiquity, a crossroads of civilizations, empires, and cultures (Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Byzantine and Central European) that have each left their layers on the landscape and the people.
Tulcea is also the gateway to the Danube Delta —where the Danube splits into its three great arms before surrendering to the Black Sea.
Tulcea is part of Dobrogea region, one of the most geographically and culturally diverse territory in Romania, and one of the most underappreciated corners of all Europe, full of contrasts: ancient cave monasteries carved into limestone cliffs, Roman ruins at Histria and Adamclisi, vast steppes and then — quite suddenly — the extraordinary Delta to the north and the Black Sea coastline to the east.
Photo by Dutulescu Florin
And then, of course, there is the Delta itself — vast territory of genuine, uncompromised wilderness – floating reed islands, ancient oak forests, sand dunes and a network of waterways. The area hosts one of the world’s largest and most significant pelican colonies, alongside over 300 species of birds.
Mila 23 itself — the finish line of the race is a village accessible only by water, which means that arriving there is already an act of separation from the ordinary world. The newly inaugurated Ivan Patzaichin Museum is a portrait of an entire way of life – the Delta fishing communities, their relationship with nature, their resilience, their creativity — told through the prism of one extraordinary man who carried all of that with him onto the world stage and never forgot where he came from.
From a culinary perspective, the Danube Delta offers a rare authenticity; its ancient and exquisite freshwater fish traditions pair admirably with the crisp local white wines from the nearby Dobrogea vineyards.
Arrive a few days early if you possibly can. Stay a few days after. We invite you — our guests — to become guests of nature. Let the Delta work on you at its own pace — and it will. What makes this weekend truly extraordinary is how it bridges sport competition with a living model of sustainable tourism. You will leave with more than a medal, you will carry back a piece of the Delta’s soul.
*Photos courtesy of Organisers
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