Peter Weidert’s Triple Gold Triumph: The Rise of Masters 50+ & 60+ in SUP Racing

A lively discussion, sparked by Light Board Corp Boss Gerd Weisner, has ignited a strong response from the SUP community about fully embracing the Masters 60+ category. Time and again, paddlers over 50 have showcased their dominance in endurance SUP, leveraging experience, refined technique, strategic insight, and mental resilience to excel in the sport.

Now, we’re catching up with Peter Weidert – multiple-time world SUP Champion and last year’s ICF Triple Gold Winner. Dubbed the “poster boy” for the Masters division by Light Board Corp, Peter shows no signs of slowing down – if anything, he’s determined to get even faster this year.

Photo credit: Planet Canoe

Hi Peter, once again, massive congratulations on your Triple Gold at the ICF Worlds! What does this unprecedented achievement in the Masters 50+ category mean to you personally and professionally?

Thank you very much Anna! As an engineer I know how much effort it needs to reach 100%. It is a great honour to win all races. I’m working full time with average 40 to 50h per week but SUP racing is my hobby and it charges my batteries, so it is not too hard to find as much time as possible doing what I love – I have plenty of motivation.

Photo credit: Planet Canoe

How do you win triple Gold at the World SUP Championships?!? Could you share your top tips, including your approach to training, mental preparation, and managing stress?

l love SUP, I love to train on the water. I optimise every day to get the time to train. Mental strength comes from determination and the willingness to to go to the limits. This also means looking after the quality of training and preparation such as having your perfect paddle and board set up. We are training all year in our canoe club and at least 2-3 days a week we can join the water as a training group. This helps going occasionally to the limit and have partial race trials in different areas like endurance, sprints or buoy manoeuvres with various paddlers.

Photo by Andy Klotz

The Masters 50+ category often doesn’t receive the same spotlight as open categories. We just discussed it with Gerd in our latest article that sparked a lot of attention. Do you think this is changing?

I do not want to compare the Masters medals to the Open Class which is the top, the Olymp. I’ve won also medals in my sport career in the Open Class in many different categories from white water slalom, dragon boats and flat water canoes. I won also three Open Class titles as a 40+ athlete at the German SUP Championships.

The performance in the Junior and Masters age groups is nowadays really good and it needs a very high capability and focus to take podiums. As SUP racing is growing, we see especially a high participation rate in the Master categories. It is interesting to see that not only on our territory but also in the USA Masters 50+ and Masters 60+ have such success to get paddlers involved in racing. I recently recognized these high numbers in the Californian HanoHano Race.

Juniors are already strong in some countries and hopefully we can get this traction going everywhere.
For me it is no question, to have SUP racing as an open format – embracing all age groups – is important to build the momentum towards a bright future. The more paddlers the better the event is.

What improvements would you like to see in how SUP events and competitions include and celebrate 50+ athletes?

In the ICF World Championships participation numbers are high in all age groups and it does make sense to have separate races for all of us. For the regular events it does make sense to have combined starter fields racing together in Long Distance. Then we can honour the fastest as well as the age groups and in case a Junior or Master is faster than the open class they can have two podiums.

For Sprint and Tech racing, age groups should not get mixed up at National Championships. I would also follow Gerd Weisner’s proposal to honour the 60+ age group. In Germany we already have a high participation in that category and it keeps growing.

Photo credit: Planet Canoe

How do you hope your achievements inspire others, particularly those in the Masters age group, to continue with SUP and enter international competitions?

I hope it shows that you can participate in such high-level events no matter what your age is. Compare to your category, set a reasonable goal and train hard. It is so much easier to train for a reason.

Could you tell us more about your winning Light Board Corp PARADOXA board at the ICF Worlds?

My go to race board is a 22″ PARADOXA in the Light Board Corp’s unique hollow construction using autoclave technology and unidirectional carbon fiber layers only. This board is way stiffer, lighter than anything I used before and the shape is a result of many years of testing and fine tuning.

Normen Weber, myself, Hermann Husslein and Gerd, spend endless hours discussing shape opportunities and testing prototypes. Rail design, bottom contours and rocker combined with the ultra-low stance offer huge speed potential, leverage and comfort.

What’s next for you in your SUP career? Do you have any specific goals or projects you’re working on?

I have three season highlights and would love to tick the box to get a bit faster. Next big race is the SUP Alps Trophy’s The Lake Rocks Festival. It is an international race with huge participation and feels like a mix of a SUP festival, World Championships and the German Championship. We are planning to compete again at the end of the season at the ICF World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Photo by Andy Klotz

To find out more about LIGHTBOARDCORP® designs, visit lightboardcorp.com  and check out our full interview with Gerd Weisner

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