Double World Champion Claudia Postiglione joins Team NSP

At the 2023 ICF World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand a young Italian paddler stunned the world with her two gold medals, Claudia Postiglione. Now this young rising star has joined the NSP SUP Race Team and TotalSUP has the first interview with this talented paddler.

Double World Champion – Claudia Postiglione

Ciao Claudia, benvenuta su TotalSUP! 

Grazie Chris! 

I want to start by acknowledging your extraordinary performance in Thailand last year, congratulations!

Thank you so much, it was a very special event and I would like to thank the organisers, it was fantastic.

Very modest of you, I am sure that no other paddler has had the same impact on the sport, winning 2 World Championship titles at your first World Championships and you are still only 15 years old 

I think I was a little lucky, to get two wins. It is already a dream come true. 

Claudia on her way to gold in Thailand. Image from Trent Pedersen at NSP

Before we talk about joining the NSP team I think we should learn a little more about you.

Ok, well my name is Claudia Postiglione and I am 15 years old, I have been practising SUP for almost 3 years now. I first paddled at a summer camp at the SUP Academy in Taranto led by coach Mario Tagarelli.  That was in June 2021. I really enjoyed being on the water and going fast! 

We have a short video of you in action at your home training spot in Taranto

That looks like a great place to paddle, we will come back to that in a minute. Before you found SUP you were already a competitive junior athlete, you were a very keen skier?

Yes, I learned to ski when I was very young, at three years old. And I have won several contests through my school but we live a long way from the ski slopes so my dream of being a ski instructor might have to wait now I have such success in SUP. 

And you have a background in dance too?

I love to dance! I have practised ballet, modern and contemporary dance since I was a child but now I dedicate myself only to SUP.

Claudia with her lucky NSP race board

That sporting and dancing background must help with your core strength and balance on the SUP. After that first summer camp with Mario how did you get involved with racing?

Racing is so good! I really enjoyed races when I was skiing and as soon as I tried SUP I knew that I wanted to race, I think I like to push myself and I want to race against the best athletes. 

My first SUP Races were in 2022 and I won several junior races in Italy and I went to my first international races, winning both the under 15 and under 18 categories at the ODRA Sup Race in Raciborz in Poland and, because I was only 14 years old, I entered the kids race at the ICF World Championship in Gdynia and won that too.

I think that is an incredible, rapid progression. Within a year of trying a Stand Up Paddle board, you were winning international races and against older, more experienced racers. Now we must talk about your 2023 season…

Thank you! 

2023 was amazing. I went to my first Eurotour competitions, the race in Scharbeutz where I finished in ninth place overall and then Punta Ala and Noudhausen where I finished on the podium.

I must interrupt here, at age 14 you were racing against senior athletes and finishing in the top 10! And, then you moved up to podium places! That’s remarkable. What happened next?

Next was the Italian Championship in Punta Ala which I won and I was selected for the Italian National SUP team for the ISA World Championships in France. That was a huge honour for me, to wear a national costume and represent my country, it was so special.

The racing in France was hard, conditions were hard for all the competitors and I finished the competition with lots more experience. I raced in the senior category and finished in thirteenth place and the Italian Team finished in fourth place, it was a fantastic experience! 

Claudia winning gold in Thailand

You then had more solid results in the European Championships in Peniche, again racing in the senior class and then, Thailand. This is where your journey with NSP started

Yes, Peniche was a great experience before travelling to Thailand. 

I set foot on an NSP for the first time right in Pattaya, a Ninja 14×20 rented from Union Paddlers, and it was instant love. Although so narrow I found it extremely stable and very fast. After the second gold, I knew that was my board! 

I had the privilege of meeting Alain Teurquetil, NSP designer, who also let me try the Carolina and Cheetah, extremely interesting and high-performance boards.

I love speed and the Ninja from my point of view is the best-performing board I have tried so far. I did not want to part with that Ninja anymore and Andrey Kraytor of Union Paddlers and NSP granted my wish to be able to have here in Italy the board used in Thailand. I am now proud to be part of the great NSP team.

Claudia winning at the ICF World Championships in Thailand. Image Georgia Schofield

A good board needs a good paddler on it, and your results show how good you are, remind us how your races went.

At the ICF world championship in Thailand I raced in the junior class and finished in fourth place in the sprint before winning the long-distance and technical races, all my races were on the Ninja, my lucky board.

I’m sure that luck had little to do with that! Now that you are with Team NSP, what is next?

More racing! I define myself as an extremely determined girl in pursuing my goals, passion and perseverance are the basis of everything both in studying at school in the water, and finally in the gym. Although I will still be a junior for the next few years I love to compete and compare myself even with seniors from whom I still have so much to learn. 

The most important thing this year will be proper planning for the whole season, now we are preparing for the first international race in April, the Spring Sup Race in Comacchio, Italy. 

The most important race of the year will be in November, the ICF World Championships in Sarasota, Florida, so planning training to arrive at each race in perfect physical shape is the first goal, then spending as much time as possible on the water on the Ninja to gain mastery.

During the ISA World Cup and EuroSUP I competed in SUP wave, a discipline I had never practised before. I enjoyed it so much that now I can’t wait to go out on wave days. I am looking forward to trying the other NSP shapes to train in wave days. 

Your enthusiasm for racing is clear to see, of the different racing styles which is your favourite?

My favourite discipline is technical racing but I am also training in sprinting, and I never stop progressing on the long as it takes years of practice and experience to have major improvements.

Back to the video, that shows you and your NSP Ninja in a beautiful bay, that is Taranto?

Yes, I live in Taranto which is a city in Puglia in southern Italy. This is a magical region defined by National Geographic in the last two years as the most beautiful region in the world. 

I paddle with The SUP Academy which is based in Lido Gandoli, that is the place we filmed the video. It is a wonderful bay with crystal clear sea and mild temperatures even in winter. 

The SUP Academy in Taranto. Image from their website

It looks fantastic and warm! The SUP Academy has been important in your rapid progression, I know that Mario is a very good motivator.

Absolutely! My Team is essential for me! Going out in the sea with 15/20 kids pushes you to push your limits day after day, and we have so much fun which for our age is very important.

Thank you, Claudia for your time and this fantastic introduction to you as a paddler. I am absolutely sure that we will see you on podiums around the world this year and throughout your career.

Claudia Postiglione is a World Champion SUP racer and a member of the NSP International SUP racing team.

You can find out more about the NSP Team team riders on the NSP Website and you can find out more about the huge range of NSP race SUPs and everything else NSP through their social media on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and on the NSP website.

You can keep up with Claudia and her adventures through her website and you can find out more about the SUP Academy, where she got her fantastic start as a SUP racer on Facebook and Instagram.