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Lithuania's Vadim Korobov delivered an impressive victory in the Open Men's final, while Italy's Cecilia Pampinella continued her remarkable season by adding the world title to the three European crowns she won in Agios Nikolaos last month.

The European success extended to the Junior and Masters categories, with Romania's Matei Barbu, Czechia's Pavlina Kankova, Great Britain's Ginnie Betts, the Netherlands' Petronella van Malsen and Germany's Manuel Lauble also among the new world champions.

The eight championship finals produced nine gold medallists following a dead heat in the Masters 40+ Men's competition.

Vadim Korobov takes Open Men's world title after European silver

Lithuania's Vadim Korobov produced a commanding performance in the Open Men's 100-metre final to claim the world championship title in 23.31 seconds.

Korobov crossed the finish line 0.73 seconds ahead of Spain's Sergio Cantoral, who secured silver in 24.05 seconds, while another Spanish athlete, Manuel Hoyuela, completed the podium with bronze in 24.38 seconds.

The result was particularly significant for Korobov, who had finished second in the Open Men's Sprint competition at the Paddle Europe Championships in Agios Nikolaos, behind Romania's Matei Barbu.

Just weeks later, the Lithuanian moved from European silver to world gold, confirming his position among the leading international Sprint paddlers.

Hoyuela also repeated his European bronze-medal performance, securing third place at both continental and world level.

European athletes dominated the final, occupying seven of the eight starting positions. France's Noic Garioud finished fourth in 24.43 seconds, narrowly missing the podium, while Denmark's Christian Andersen, the reigning European Technical Race and Long Distance champion, placed fifth.

The Netherlands' Donato Freens finished seventh, followed by Spain's Aaron Sánchez in eighth.

Spain's two medals reinforced the country's remarkable depth in Sprint, with Cantoral and Hoyuela sharing the podium with the Lithuanian champion.

Cecilia Pampinella adds world gold to remarkable European season

Italy's Cecilia Pampinella continued her outstanding 2026 campaign with victory in the Open Women's Sprint final, giving the home nation one of the most celebrated successes of the championships.

The Italian athlete completed the 100 metres in 28.69 seconds, defeating Puerto Rico's Mariecarmen Rivera, who finished second in 28.90 seconds, just 0.20 seconds behind.

Poland's Hanna Kaminska claimed bronze in 28.96 seconds, only 0.06 seconds behind Rivera.

Pampinella arrived in Sabaudia following a dominant performance at the Paddle Europe Championships in Agios Nikolaos, where she claimed all three Open Women's European titles in Sprint, Technical Race and Long Distance.

Her victory on Friday added a world title to that impressive collection and confirmed her ability to deliver in the decisive moments against the strongest international opposition.

Kaminska also continued her successful season, following her European Sprint silver medal with world bronze.

Spain's Alba Frey finished fourth in 29.64 seconds, while compatriot Elene Etxeberria placed sixth, ensuring further European representation in the championship final.

With the Technical Race finals still to come, Pampinella will have another opportunity to extend her remarkable medal-winning season.

Matei Barbu crowned Junior world champion ahead of Daskiran and Viveiros

The Junior Men's final provided one of the strongest European performances of the day, with athletes from Romania, Germany and Portugal occupying all three podium positions.

Romania's Matei Barbu claimed the world title with a time of 23.74 seconds, finishing 0.21 seconds ahead of Germany's Marlon Daskiran, who secured silver in 23.96 seconds.

Portugal's Lourenço Viveiros completed the podium with bronze in 24.14 seconds, 0.40 seconds behind the Romanian winner.

Barbu's victory continued an extraordinary season for the young Romanian.

At the Paddle Europe Championships in Agios Nikolaos, he had already demonstrated his exceptional ability by winning the Open Men's Sprint European title despite still being eligible for the Junior category.

In that European final, Barbu defeated Vadim Korobov, who has now become the Open Men's world champion in Sabaudia.

The two athletes therefore leave the Sprint competition with world titles in different age categories, highlighting the quality of the European Sprint field.

For Lourenço Viveiros, the bronze medal added another major international result to his successful season. The Portuguese athlete arrived in Italy as the reigning European Junior Sprint and Technical Race champion.

Germany's Marlon Daskiran also improved on his continental result, moving from European Junior bronze to world silver.

The European podium was particularly significant, as the three medallists finished ahead of competitors from Japan, Spain and Italy.

Czechia's Pavlina Kankova wins Junior Women's world title

Europe also completed a podium sweep in the Junior Women's Sprint final, with Czechia's Pavlina Kankova taking the world title in 30.14 seconds.

Greece's Ioanna Papadimitriou finished second in 30.47 seconds, while Spain's Nuria Chiquero secured bronze in 30.936 seconds.

Kankova's victory came against strong European opposition, including the reigning European Junior Sprint champion, Papadimitriou, who had won gold in Agios Nikolaos.

The Greek athlete added world silver to her European title, while Chiquero completed another all-European podium.

Greece narrowly missed a second medal in the category, with Erasmia Malekaki finishing fourth in 31.18 seconds. Malekaki had previously claimed European Junior bronze in Agios Nikolaos.

Italy's Sveva Sabato, the European Junior Technical Race and Long Distance champion, finished fifth in 31.54 seconds, followed by compatriot Lisa Venturelli, the European Junior Sprint silver medallist, in sixth.

The results underline the strength and depth of the emerging generation of European female paddlers.

European athletes claim further titles in Masters competitions

The Masters categories provided another series of European successes, with gold medals for Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany.

In Masters 50+ Women, Great Britain's Ginnie Betts claimed the world title in 35.49 seconds following one of the closest finals of the afternoon.

Canada's Edith Turcotte finished just 0.033 seconds behind in 35.52 seconds, while Greece's Penny Tsaoutou completed the podium in 36.12 seconds.

For Tsaoutou, the bronze medal added another international achievement to her remarkable season, having won three European Masters 50+ Women's titles in Sprint, Technical Race and Long Distance at Agios Nikolaos.

In Masters 40+ Women, the Netherlands' Petronella van Malsen secured gold with a winning time of 34.44 seconds, after Ariel Amaral from Canada capsizes jsut a few meters from the finish line. 

Poland's Malgorzata Cieplinska finished second in 34.905 seconds, while Peru's Giannisa Vecco claimed bronze in 35.05 seconds.

Italy's Claudia Luchetta, the reigning European Masters 40+ Sprint and Technical Race champion, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in 35.11 seconds, just 0.06 seconds behind bronze.

The Masters 40+ Men's final produced an exceptional result, with Germany's Manuel Lauble and Argentina's Lucas Correa recording exactly the same time of 25.80 seconds.

Both athletes were awarded the world title, with Japan's Ryohei Yoshida taking bronze in 25.906 seconds, just one tenth of a second behind the joint winners.

The dead heat meant that two gold medals were awarded in the category, with no silver medal.

In Masters 50+ Men, Canada claimed the top two podium positions.

Chris Stringer secured gold in 27.12 seconds, ahead of compatriot Tommy Buday, who finished in 27.36 seconds.

Kazakhstan's Zhomart Satubaldin completed the podium in 27.391 seconds, while Germany's Peter Weidert was the highest-placed European athlete, finishing fourth in 27.50 seconds.

Europe collects 16 medals and seven golds

The conclusion of the Sprint competition confirmed a strong European performance across all age groups.

European paddlers collected 16 of the 24 medals awarded, including seven gold, four silver and five bronze.

Seven of the eight championship categories featured at least one European world champion.

Spain finished with three medals — one silver and two bronze — while Germany collected gold and silver.

Greece and Poland secured two medals each, while Czechia, Great Britain, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Romania celebrated world titles.

Portugal also reached the podium through Lourenço Viveiros' Junior Men's bronze medal.

The results demonstrated the depth of European Stand Up Paddling, from established Open competitors to emerging Junior talents and experienced Masters athletes.

They also reinforced the importance of the Paddle Europe Championships, with several athletes who competed for continental titles in Agios Nikolaos now confirming their quality on the world stage.

Attention turns to Saturday's Technical Race world titles

With the Sprint competition concluded, attention now returns to the Technical Race, where the world championship titles will be decided on Saturday, 17 October.

Thursday's opening qualification rounds already produced several outstanding European performances, setting up another highly competitive day in Sabaudia.

Italy's Cecilia Pampinella will be among the athletes to watch as she attempts to add a second world title to her Sprint victory, continuing the form that brought her three European gold medals in Agios Nikolaos.

Denmark's Christian Andersen, the reigning European Open Men's Technical Race champion, will also be looking to challenge for world honours, alongside several strong European contenders, including Spain's Ivan Puente and Great Britain's Blue Ewer, who impressed in Thursday's qualification races.

In the Junior categories, Romania's newly crowned Sprint world champion Matei Barbu will have another opportunity to compete for international success, while Portugal's Lourenço Viveiros will seek to build on his Sprint bronze and his European Junior Technical Race title.

Italy's Sveva Sabato, the reigning European Junior Women's Technical Race champion, will also be one of the leading European athletes to follow.

The Masters competitions promise further opportunities for European success, with several continental champions and medallists progressing through the qualification stages.

After an outstanding Sprint competition, European athletes will be aiming to extend their medal-winning performances as the Technical Race titles are decided on Saturday.

The championships will conclude on Sunday with the Long Distance and Inflatable SUP competitions.