The inaugural edition of the Busan SUP Open, the APP World Tour’s Stop #3 in Korea delivered spectacular action and brought together the local SUP race community this past weekend on Gwangalli Beach.
With the Gwangalli Bridge as a backdrop, SIC team rider from Japan Rai Taguchi makes a clean sweep and Danish new superstar (she was recently crowned European champion in sprint racing) Caroline Küntzel claims her first overall win on the APP World Tour.
Busan SUP Open 2022 – Men’s Sprint Final
> You have to watch how Rai Taguchi goes from 4th place and a very bad start to 1st place after the craziest pivot turn and the most powerful acceleration in SUP Race history.
Busan SUP Open 2022 – Women’s Sprint Final
The Busan SUP Open saw some of the world’s top athletes assemble in Busan, Korea for stop #3 of the APP’s Racing World Tour. Day 1 saw Japan’s Rai Taguchi and Denmark’s Caroline Kuntzel claim their first ever sprint win on the World Tour and Sunday’s distance race saw our athletes embark on a very technical 10km long distance race, where Taguchi clinched his second win of the weekend with April Zilg winning it for the women.
The first lap of the men’s distance race maintained a tight battle between the lead pack, but by the second lap, sprint champ Rai Taguchi managed to break away from the field with fellow Japanese racer, Shuri Araki also known as ‘Shrimpy’. Taguchi’s ocean-knowledge and technical ability prevailed and he pulled away from Araki to be greeted at the finish line with not only the distance title but the overall title too.
In the women’s field, USA’s April Zilg was untouchable from the get-go. She paddled seamlessly in the choppy conditions, with every wave taking her further away from the rest of the pack. With Zilg being practically untouchable, the battle was on for second place between Argentina’s Juliette DuHaime and Denmark’s Caroline Kuntzel. Juliette’s endurance triumphed however and she claimed second place. Kuntzel’s third place meant she secured the overall title after her victorious run in the sprints the previous day.
Gwangalli Beach provided the perfect venue for a weekend of racing for both the professional athletes and the hundreds of amateur racers in Busan, which has one of the most vibrant and hospitable SUP communities in the world.
Catch all the results and watch all the best moments from the Busan SUP Open right here.
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