Is canoe sprint – SUP racing a winning crossover? In conversation with World Champion Vadim Korobov

Vadim Korobov emerged as one to watch on the SUP racing scene at the 2025 Paddle Worldwide Championships in Abu Dhabi (former ICF Worlds), claiming silver in the Open Men’s SUP sprint. Building on a strong run of podium finishes, including silver at the European SUP Championships in Agios Nikolaos, the self-taught athlete from Vilnius, Lithuania, took the next step this month, winning the 100m sprint world title at the SUP World Championships in Sabaudia, Italy, in an impressive 23.31 seconds.

Korobov’s success reignites an ongoing debate within the sport: the emergence of two distinct types of athlete. On one side are those who have grown up immersed entirely in the modern SUP race culture; on the other, athletes who have crossed over from disciplines such as canoe sprint, bringing years of elite racing experience and a different set of skills to the board. As these two pathways increasingly converge on the start line, the question is how each shapes performance at the highest level of SUP racing.

Vadim’s rise to the top puts this crossover firmly in the spotlight, particularly as he continues to compete in canoe sprint alongside his SUP career. As a highly accomplished waterman, his dual-sport background offers an opportunity to explore how do the skills developed in canoe sprint translate to SUP, and what advantages can this crossover offer when competing on the world stage?

To find out more, we went straight to the source: the newly crowned world sprint champion himself. We caught up with Vadim to explore how his canoe sprint background shapes his approach to SUP racing, what advantages this crossover brings, and the gear that helped carry him across the finish line: the Light Board Corp PARADOXA.

Photo by Damiano Benedetto

Hi Vadim, welcome to TotalSUP and once again massive congratulations on your World SUP Championship Title! You burst onto the SUP scene with incredible explosiveness, showcasing both raw speed in the sprints and impressive technical skills on the course. After taking silver in the men’s sprint at the 2025 Paddle Worldwide SUP World Championships in 24.0 seconds, you went one step further to claim the 100 m sprint world title in 2026. What did you learn from your 2025 performance, and what changed in your preparation, technique or mindset that helped you make the leap from silver to gold?

Last year, finishing second at the World Championships gave me a huge boost in confidence. I can feel that every year my water sense improves and my results keep getting better. So coming into this year’s World Championships, I was really hungry for a medal, and of course, my ultimate dream was gold.

Paddle Worldwide Sprint Championship Podium: Vadim Korobov (Centre) with Sergio Cantoral (Silver) and Manuel Hoyuela (Bronze) | Photo by Damiano Benedetto

You compete in both sprint canoe and SUP racing. Take us back to the beginning: how did you get into canoe sprint, and what eventually brought you to stand-up paddleboarding?

Yes, I’m still competing in canoe sprint, and I’m also forming part of the Lithuanian Olympic team. So all winter and spring we’ve been training hard at camps with the national canoe team, and our main goal now is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

As for stand-up paddleboarding, I first tried it in 2022 at the World Championships in Gdynia. It was during my canoe off-season – some friends of mine were participating, and since the location wasn’t far from home, I just borrowed an old board, strapped it to my car, invited a friend, and drove down there.

Somehow, I won my preliminary race and then my heat. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the final that year, but I realized I really loved that feeling on the board. So that’s how my SUP career started.

What was the biggest surprise when you first stepped onto a SUP race board? What felt familiar, and what was completely different?

I think one of the biggest surprises for me when I first stepped onto a SUP race board was that I had to paddle on both sides – and do it well. It was a huge challenge for me back then, and honestly, it still is today.

I’ve been canoeing for almost 20 years, paddling exclusively on my right side the entire time, so switching to both sides in SUP took a lot of adjustment. The main similarity between canoeing and SUP is that you’re still in the water with a paddle in your hand, but beyond that, there are a lot of differences as well.

Canoe sprint is all about explosive power, precision and efficiency. Which skills transferred naturally to SUP, and which did you have to relearn from scratch?

Yes, you’re absolutely right – canoe sprint is all about explosive power. My best results in canoeing were in the sprint events as well, and I actually still hold the world’s best time in the C1 200m set back in 2016, which no one has been able to beat yet.

So that explosive power definitely transferred over to SUP. However, the technique and the overall feel are quite different. It took me a fair amount of time to figure out how to efficiently apply power to the SUP blade, especially since SUP blades are much smaller than canoe paddles. Finding a way to translate my raw power into driving the SUP board forward effectively was definitely a learning process. And for sure I still have plenty of room for improvement!

Photo by Damiano Benedetto

Your buoy-turn technique got people talking during the livestream! Is your technique something you deliberately set out to develop, or did it evolve naturally through racing and experimentation?

My buoy turn technique just evolved naturally during races. My right turns are still not quite good, and I definitely need to improve them. But when it’s choppy, I can’t paddle from the left side, so I just figured out a way to turn to the right while still paddling on the right side. And yes, my right turns look pretty strange and are a bit slow, but for now, it’s the only way I can manage a right turn without falling into the water.

Yes, I saw that a lot of people were talking about my turn during the live stream. Actually, between races, a lot of people came up to me asking how I pull off that turn, because nobody else in the SUP world really uses a turn like that. So people were pretty excited and curious about why and how I do it.

Photo by Damiano Benedetto

You chose the Light Board Corp PARADOXA for your racing. What drew you to this particular board, and what made you feel it suited your style?

Yes, I chose the Light Board Corp PARADOXA for my races. It all started three years ago at the 2023 World Championships in Pattaya. I met Gerd on the beach, and he offered to let me try his board. I took it out for five minutes and liked it from the very first strokes because of the low standing area and the board’s stiffness. I immediately realized it could be great for sprinting.

The following year at the European Championships in Hungary, I borrowed a board from a Hungarian guy – it was the PARADOXA 14×23 – and I won my first international SUP medal. That’s when I knew this board really worked for me and that we made a great team for the future.

I’m still using it today, though over the years I’ve realized that the 21-inch width is the best size for me. It works incredibly well, so I think moving forward, I can go even faster on it than I am now.

Photo by Mantas Stankevicius

Do you think sprint canoeists have a natural advantage when they move into SUP, particularly over short distances? What do they still need to learn?

When I first tried SUP, I thought athletes coming from canoe sprint would have a major advantage. But over the years, I’ve realized that SUP and its athletes are progressing rapidly – the sport is growing so fast.

The only real edge I have is that I train intensely with my national team for about ten months a year, and I can build on that physical foundation for SUP. Still, SUP technique is quite different, and you really need to spend time on the board and develop a strong feel for it to be fast. So to answer your question: having a sprint canoe background definitely gives you a head start, but there’s still a massive amount you have to learn to truly be fast on a SUP.

You’ve shown how sprint canoe experience can translate into explosive speed and technical skill on a SUP. Do you think more sprint canoeists could make the move into SUP racing, and could that crossover open up a whole new pool of talent for the sport?

For sure, more canoe sprinters making the switch could be surprising, but to be honest, from my experience, it’s really not easy to manage two sports at the same time. I’m pretty lucky that my most important SUP competitions, like the European and World Championships, are in the Autumn – because that’s usually my off-season as a canoe sprinter.

On the other hand, it’s still quite a challenge, because it’s still a big challenge because juggling both sports is hard, and giving up your only break of the year is definitely tough.

Photo by Damiano Benedetto

And if more sprint canoeists entered SUP, do you think they would change the way the sport is raced – technically, tactically or even in how athletes train?

I think SUP has already come a long way as its own sport, so I personally wouldn’t say canoeists would completely change it. But one thing is for sure – they would definitely bring in some new details. Canoe sprint has been around for ages, so I think a lot of our training methods could easily be brought over to SUP.

What’s next for you? What are your plans for the rest of the season and looking ahead to 2027?

Now when the World Championships ended, I realized that I had spent last two months – since early September – focusing entirely on SUP while my national team teammates were resting. Now, starting in November, I have to go back to preparation for the 2027 season. But honestly, I really hope I can reach a compromise with my coaches and that they’ll let me take at least a couple of weeks off ,so I can go visit my friends abroad or head somewhere warm by the ocean, since it’s already getting cold here in Lithuania.

Then, with a fresh mindset, I’ll start a strong new preparation for 2027. One thing I know for sure is that I’m not planning to stop here in either canoe or SUP. There are still plenty of challenges ahead that I’m more than happy to take on, and even with a world title, I’m just getting started! Thank you very much for both of you for all your work during world championships and for sup community! Best regards and see you in season 2027!

Thank you for your time Vadim – see you in 2027!

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