Nicolas Iten sets another pump foiling record on Indiana’s new Condor XL wing

From championship-level inline skating to world record pump foiling, Nicolas Iten’s story is the one of relentless dedication and skill. In an astonishing span of few weeks, this driven athlete and Indiana Paddle & Surf Co. Team Rider from Switzerland, managed to beat his first record in long distance pump foiling (36km in 2:39 hours) by nonstop pumping for over 4 hours and covering 54.8km!

Having just discovered the discipline and pumping since August 2023, Nicolas achievement is even more remarkable, showcasing a humble athlete’s stamina and passion for the sport.

TotalSUP caught up with Nicolas to chat about his transition to watersports and his pursuit of breaking world records. Notably, his second record was “not planned” and achieved by riding on the fuel of just a Snickers bar and two bananas!

Hi Nicolas, welcome to TotalSUP! Congrats on your recent world record or shall we say consecutive world records! Let’s dive first into your background, you’re a world class inline speed skater, wow, let’s talk about that too!

When I was 11 years old, I got in contact with inline skating. Very soon, I started competing at some races in Switzerland and was super motivated to get better and better. In 2005 I became the European Champion in the most famous discipline, the Marathon. Along with my studies I was a professional inline speed skater and as part of the Rollerblade World Team, I was 2007 able to win the world’s biggest race, the Berlin and Seoul Marathon. Right now I’m still skating at competitions, but I’m a lot less disciplined the when I was young. I’m still training every day, but I’m doing more cycling, running, skateboarding on the pump track and since last year, pump foiling has been my main focus.

How did you get into watersports and pump foiling?

When I was young I really didn’t like the water. But when I started my studies in sport science many years ago, I got in touch with watersports. We had to practise rowing and canoeing. I liked both sports a lot and bought a K1 race kayak and a surfski and some years later a racing stand-up paddleboard. To glide silently over the lake or calm river and enjoy the scenery only with human power is a great balance to my job as a sports teacher, that I really like but it’s sometimes a bit stressful in the sports hall.

Two years ago, my father in law handed me a newspaper with an article about pump foiling. I’ve never seen that activity before. I was impressed by this sport, because flying over water that includes leg endurance, balance and speed without any engine was exactly my thing. But it took me one more year to start due to other priorities.

From finding pump foiling to the world record itself – Could you tell us more about that journey?

Before I started pump foiling in August last year, I’ve never seen or spoken to another pump foiler. So I did some research on the internet to get the right starter equipment and did my first trials. Luckily it was during my Summer holidays, so I went every morning to the lake to try pump foiling or better, crashing from the board.

After one week, I was able to pump for several meters. After two weeks I changed my equipment and was soon able to pump for half an hour and more. I was still very motivated and was going for one or two sessions per week during Winter, always with the goal in my head, to one day pump a marathon.

In April this year, I switched the brand and got my Condor XL from Indiana. At the very first push I recognized that I need much less energy and my goal and dream are within reach. After one month of training, I’ve started attempting to break Jérôme Baudoux’s world record with a time of 2:05 hours. My final time was 2:39 hours, but due to a mistake and crashing into the water after taking some water from my wife, I didn’t reach the marathon distance.

Two days later, Jérôme showed a great performance and did 44km in 3:26 hours. So I planned another attempt in Summer. Two weeks later, I wanted to test the material and position of my board, and I went around the lake of Sempach (16km). After the first lap I decided to do another one, because the lake was quite calm and super pleasant. Finally I did a third and some other small laps and did 54.8km in 4:02 hours. My batteries were very low, because the day before I competed in an inline speed skating race and only ate a bar and two bananas in the early morning.

What was your board set up?

I use Indiana hydroskate board (95cm x 32cm), LD carbon mast, HD 610 alu fuselage, Condor XL wing and Condor XS stabilizer.

How do you keep pumping for over 4 hours – Can you refuel at all?

It’s important, to eat and drink a lot carbs before such long runs. At my 4h record, I took 2.5l of water with me in a hydrobag in my runners backpack and two bananas. Next time, I will take some more carbs with me.

To pump for so long, it’ss also important to concentrate all the time. Specially to pump at the right hight (difficult, when the water is mirroring) and to avoid gliding into a wooden bench or seagrass.

You’ve used the new Indiana Condor XL designed for record pumping runs… Why this wing and how was your experience?

My goal is to pump as long as possible with less energy requiring to enjoy the run and the scenery. This wing is designed by Jérôme, who has a lot of experience in long pump foil runs. With his experience, the best wing has been built for these kind of records. For me it’ss also important to do some little curves (which is possible) and to transport it easy in my car or even in my backpack, when I go by train or by bicycle – 170cm is more or less the limit.

Could you tell us about your collaboration with Indiana?

When I heard about Jérôme’s first pump foil record last year, I got in touch with Maurus Strobel from Indiana. I told him about my dream to pump a marathon. He told me about the Condor XL, that will be available this Spring. He took interest in me and my goal and asked me to be part of the Indiana family.

What are your thoughts on the growth of pump and free foiling as a sport discipline?

In Switzerland, we have a lot of lakes and not so much wind but a lot of sport enthusiasts pracising snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and other sports. That’s why pump foiling is growing fast. With our presence on the lake and more and more TV and newspaper coverage, many more people will start pump foiling in the coming years but I guess it will never be as popular as stand-up paddling. There are more pump foiling competitions cropping up combined with wing foiling.

I hope that at some point, with some big speed competitions we know already in rowing sports, we’ll have distance ones to pump against the time. I guess free foiling will be a special part of pump foiling without big competitions. The problem is, that once you get into water, it’s not possible to start in the water again. But the gear will be getting year on year and who knows what will be possible in the future. For sure, more people will be able to pump for more than one hour easily, without having a background such as Jérôme and me.

What are your pumping plans? Any more records on your mind?

I don’t plan to do another record this year, even if someone else will go longer than 55km. I plan to go around the lake of Zug this Summer and probably some other nice lakes. Soon I will focus on different start techniques, my curve and trick skills with smaller wings.

Thank you for your time Nicolas – Keep flying high!

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*Images courtesy of Nicolas Iten