The Galician won in her first appearance in the current circuit
They want to try to make SUP an Olympic discipline in the future
In a London mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and before the eyes of the crowd queuing to pay their respects to the monarch, the Spanish Esperanza Barreras arrived the first to the finish line located next to the Tower of London in the second stop of the professional world circuit of HIS P (Stand Up Paddle).
In her first appearance in the current circuit, the Galician resident in Fuerteventura, world and European champion, overcame unexpected conditions on the River Thames, “with waves and currents that were more like the sea“, and triumphed over a course with 1 km against the current, a turn to a bridge and 10 km in favor of the tide.
“I took advantage of two little waves to stand out and from there I opened a gap“, the Spanish athlete, who is also preparing part of the season in the Cantabrian town of Somo with her partner and coach, Óscar Ruiz, told Efe.
“We left St Mary’s and arrived at the Tower of London. During the race we did not have time to look to the sides, but when we arrived we saw the queues of people who were going to see the queen and it was very exciting. In the end we did a ceremony as a sign of respect, “she recounted.
Barreras, 38 years old, twice as old as some of her competitors, recalled that before SUP she practiced sailing and surfing, so her body he is “used to sport”. He started with SUP in 2018 in Fuerteventura and in 2019 he attended the first ISA World Cup and won two gold medals.
He lives from October to June in Fuerteventura and from July to September in Somowhere in addition to preparing, it offers courses.
The International Surfing Federation (ISA) does not hide his intentions to make SUP an Olympic discipline“a dream” for the Spanish, who is “sure” that she could reach the Los Angeles 2028 edition if this modality enters the program by then.
Barreras will then play the Spanish championships in search of qualifying for the ISA World Cup in November in Puerto Rico, in which he wishes to “revalidate the medals”.