There was a real buzz among our Paracanoe athletes this year, one year after the sport made its Paralympic debut in Rio.

Almost all of our Rio athletes were back in action, and there was no sign of a post-Games hangover with many of our gold medallists backing up with world championship gold medals in Racice.

There was more great news for our paracanoe community late in the season, with the announcement three new disciplines will be added to the next Paralympics in Tokyo.

Rio Paralympic gold medallists Jeanette Chippington, Emma Wiggs, Curtis McGrath and...Read more

The highlight of the 2017 season for the ICF Canoe Polo community was undoubtedly the World Games in Wroclaw, Poland – a World Championships in the discipline in all but name, and dominated once again by the teams from Germany.

Seven of the world’s best teams, both men’s and women’s, took part. In previous years it was a six-team competition, but an extra position was added for 2017.

It meant the top five countries in the men’s and women’s from the 2016 World Championships were all invited to attend, along with the host nation. The seventh team was the highest...Read more

For the first time in its history, the Wildwater World Championships were held in conjunction with the Canoe Slalom World Championships, and the result was an enormous success.

The beautiful Pau venue was a perfect setting for this first-time event, and the night time finals for the wildwater discipline proved popular with the athlete and the crowds alike.

And there were plenty of former world champions proving they were still top of their game.

Czech Ondrej Rolenc won his third World title and Frenchwomen Claire Haab and Claire Bren their second.

...Read more

In a tremendous coup for freestyle canoeing and for the International Canoe Federation, the 2017 World Championships headed to South America for the first time, with San Juan in Argentina hosting the marquee event.

Early fears that the remoteness of this year’s venue would scare off competitors was largely unfounded, as all the world’s top athletes turned up in force.

And what a show San Juan put on! Great Britain’s Claire O’Hara added to her impressive world title collection with another double, freestyle legend Dane Jackson took a C1 title but had to watch on...Read more

South Africa, for so long a canoe marathon powerhouse, proved a tremendous host for the 2017 ICF World Championships, and the local fans were not disappointed.

Hank McGregor, the dominant force in the sport for the past decade, thrilled the home crowd with two gold medals, including his seventh individual world title.

And there was a tremendous battle in the women’s K1, which saw Hungarian powerhouse Renata Csay upstaged by the dogged British paddler, Lani Belcher.

In a repeat of the 2016 result, McGregor and teammate Andrew Birkett gave the host nation a...Read more

Scenic Hong Kong, with its bustling harbour crowded with Chinese junks, international shipping lines and tourist ferries, also this year hosted the ICF World Ocean Racing Championships.

It was against this picture-perfect backdrop that South Africa’s Hayley Nixon became the third women’s World Champion from as many events, and Australia’s Cory Hill successfully defended the world title he won in Tahiti in 2015.

The conditions for the men’s and women’s races could not have been more opposite, with the women’s event raced in tranquil waters, while the men’s race...Read more

By John Gregory

The first year in a new Olympic cycle heading to Tokyo. The venue construction is well-advanced and several athletes have been travelling out to Tokyo. Fédération Française de Canoë-Kayak (FFCK) demonstrated in style a wonderful showcase for the sport. The number of local children inspired by the Worlds was a testament to their superb organisational skills.

K1M – Three different Czech World Champions in 4 years

The depth of the Czech K1M became all too clear as Ondrej Tunka, 27, took the world title....Read more

A new year, new events, but Olympic champions doing what they do best – the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint season set the scene for what promises to be a gripping...Read more

This final post reflects on the Rio 2016 blog analytics and assesses how our increasingly online World allowed us to build an online presence for canoeing. 

The Rio 2016 blog could be found on the ICF Planet Canoe website, under the Rio 2016 dropdown. The blog ran for 22 days with 28 posts during between July 24th and August 14th. Here is an account of what transpired and what can be learnt from the exercise.

One: Growth of 200% in a 4-year Olympic cycle

The Planet Canoe website showed a 200% growth in audience sessions during the Rio Olympics...Read more

Italy’s Manfredi Rizza is living the dream after a perfect start to his Olympic career has provided a spot in tomorrow's K1 Men 200m final.

The 25-year-old is a relative newcomer amongst the world’s fastest but confirmed his arrival at the sports top table with victory at the 2016 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg earlier this season.

Today, Rizza eased through the heats and managed a third in a tight semifinal to confirm his place in the top eight.

Excited by his achievements the Italian said, “I was super happy to make the final. I...Read more