The Battle for Hercules was the first event in this brand-new European circuit, which will include up to three stops in Spain.
The city of Benalmádena made history in the world of Stand Up Paddle this past weekend. The waters of the Costa del Sol hosted the Battle for Hercules, the opening event of the newly launched European SUP League.
This new European Stand Up Paddle circuit made a grand debut, bringing together some of the finest athletes from across the continent for its first competition.
The European SUP League officially began its journey with the first of five events, starting in Málaga. The Battle for Hercules marked the beginning of a circuit that aims to professionalize this surfing discipline, which has ambitions of becoming an Olympic sport.
Several days of intense racing thrilled fans of both technical and long-distance formats. Under near-summer conditions and in front of an enthusiastic crowd, both national and international athletes gave it their all—delivering some unexpected results along the way.
Both the technical and long-distance races lived up to the high expectations of a launch event like this. The European SUP League went all in, achieving a dream debut with strong international participation and a significant presence from clubs that didn’t want to miss this historic moment.
“Having the Battle for Hercules as the opening race of the European SUP League is a tremendous honor and responsibility for us. We’ve been working for years to establish this event as a reference, and now it will be recognized at a continental level,” said Fofi Recio, spokesperson and driving force behind the event.
As for the results, the performance of the younger competitors was impressive, and the skill of the seasoned athletes on the roster stood out as well. It was an intense weekend of competition that crowned the following winners of the circuit’s first event: Alba Frey and Donato Freens in the Elite Long Distance category, and Duna Gordillo and Fernando Pérez in the Elite Technical Race.
The podiums for the Elite categories were as follows:
Elite Women – Long Distance
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Alba Frey
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Esperanza Barreras
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Duna Gordillo
Elite Men – Long Distance
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Donato Freens
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Arthur Arutkin
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Aarón Sánchez
Elite Women – Technical Race
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Duna Gordillo
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Esperanza Barreras
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Kocsis Csillang
Elite Men – Technical Race
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Fernando Pérez
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Christian Andersen
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Sergio Cantoral
Full results can be viewed here:
