My name is Tanja Ecker, born in 1992 and raised in the southern Black Forest, I have always been very close to nature and sports. That’s why I also studied sports science and have a Master degree (M.Sc.) in Sport Science with special qualification in Sports Management and Sustainable Development. I also have coaching Licenses in Nutrition, Fitness and Functional Training. Stand-Up Paddling is a passion that has now become a profession. As a professional stand-up paddle athlete I’m part of the German National team and could win already several national and international titles including 12 German National titles and a win of the SUP 11-City Tour 5-days in 2022 and the 200km Nonstop version in 2024. She also holds the record for the fastest SUP paddling 725 km down the Loire/ France in 5 days in 2024. Besides being an athlete I have also built a career as a successful coach and work as a sports therapist. My second passion and profession is the photography. You can find out more about this path on www.tanjaecker.de. Both as an athlete and photographer, I work with different companies, brands and events like SUP 11X, manage the social media channels, am committed to sustainability with Ecoathletes and want to share my enthusiasm and passion for sports and nature with others. I want to help paddlers reaching their individual goals with specific training and finding the right gear. You can find out more about my distribution of 404 and Hippostick for whole Europe here: www.404-sup.de & www.hippostick.de
The path to the sport
Always open to new things, I tried stand-up paddling in 2013 during my bachelor studies in Munich. After playing handball for almost 10 years, SUP was love at first sight, so to speak. The connection with nature, being outside, for me the sport is the perfect balance and full body workout. Since 2018 I’ve been doing SUP as a competitive sport, still a young sport but growing very fast. I love the versatility of it. You can do it on any type of water in any weather, from flat water to surfing, nothing is impossible. The sport creates a community with athletes from all over the world. The last 2 years I have focused on Ultra-Distances on SUP, but also cycling or hiking.
12 German National Titles in different disciplines (Longdistance, Technical and Sprint) 2019-2024
1st Women/ 2nd Overall SUP Twelve 12 hour race Torquay/ England 2025
1st SUP11-City Tour Nonstop (220km) Friesland/Netherlands 2024
SUP Record in 5 days Paddling the 725 km on the Loire/ France
1st Women/ 3rd Overall SUP Twelve 12 hour race Torquay/ England 2024
12th ISA World Championships Longdistance Copenhagen/ Denmark 2024
14th ISA World Championships TechnicalCopenhagen/ Denmark 2024
2nd SUP11-City Tour (220km) Friesland/Netherlands 2023
1st Longdistance ICF World Cup Falkenberg/Sweden
5th Eurotour Nordhausen/ Germany 2023
2nd Eurotour Namur/ Belgium 2023
16th ISA World Championships Longdistance Le Sables/ France 2023
15th ISA World Championships Technical Le Sables/ France 2023
1st SUP11-City Tour (220km) Friesland/Netherlands 2022
7th European Championships Longdistance Hvide Sande/ Denmark 2022
10th European Championships Technical Hvide Sande/ Denmark 2022
14th ICF World Championships Technical Gdynia/ Poland 2022
5th Eurotour Nordhausen/ Germany 2022
5th Eurotour Berlin/ Germany 2022
2nd SUP11-City Tour (220km) Friesland/Netherlands 2021
4th Eurotour Podersdorf/ Austria 2021
1st SUP Tour Switzerland (6 races) 2018
