Bulgarian Andrey Kraitor triumphed at the World Paddleboard Championships, held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in November 2025. The athlete successfully defended his title in the canoe-kayak paddleboard discipline, which he also won last year at the championships in Sarasota (USA). The 33-year-old Kraitor brought home a gold medal for Bulgaria, demonstrating his world-class ability amongst the global elite.

Kraitor also won another medal at the championships in the United Arab Emirates, taking bronze in the sprint event. He was pipped to the post only by Sergio Cantoral (Spain) and Vadim Korobov (Lithuania).

Andrei Kraitor was born in Ukraine, but chose to represent Bulgaria – the country where his grandmother was born. Before competing for Bulgaria, Kraitor had a long international career, representing Azerbaijan between 2009 and 2012, and then Russia from 2013 to 2023.

During his career representing Russia, he achieved significant successes, including two world titles in the 4 × 200 m single canoe relay, as well as two European titles in the individual 200 m event. Kraitor also reached the final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where he finished sixth in the 200-metre single canoe, missing out on a podium place by less than half a second.