Men's Kayak Previews

21 August - Heats
22 August - Semifinals
23 August - Finals

• Mark De Jonge (CAN), Petter Menning (SWE) and Edward McKeever (GBR) are all hoping to win their second world title in men’s K1 200m.
• Mark De Jonge (CAN) is the defending champion in men’s K1 200m and hopes to become the first with back-to-back world titles in this event since Ronald Rauhe’s (GER) threepeat between 2001 and 2003. 
• The only other male with multiple titles in this event is Michael Kolganov (ISR, 2) who won back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999.
• De Jonge can become the second male from Canada with multiple world titles in canoe sprint, after Adam Van Koeverden (CAN) who won K1 500m in 2007 and K1 1000m in 2011.
• Petter Menning (SWE) hopes to reclaim the world title after winning both the world and European title in this event in 2013.
• Edward McKeever (GBR), another former world champion in this event (2010), can claim his fourth medal in this event. Only Ronald Rauhe (GER) has more with 8.
• Rauhe and McKeever are the only athletes with a complete medal set in men’s K1 200m. De Jonge can join them if he finishes in third place.
• McKeever can become the second Briton with multiple world titles after Jeremy West (GBR) who won the men’s K1 500m and 1000m in 1986.
• McKeever has won a total of five medals at the world championships, only trailing Andrew Train (GBR, 6 medals) as most prolific Briton in the competition. Jon Schofield (GBR) and Liam Heath (GBR) can add a career sixth on 22 August.
• Marko Dragosavljevic (SRB), 20 years and 332 days old, can become the youngest medallist in this event since Artem Kononyuk (RUS, 19-240) won bronze in 2009. The only other younger medallist is Ronald Rauhe (GER) who won bronze in 1999 (17-330) and gold in 2001 (19-327).
• Spain’s Saúl Craviotto finished in third place in 2013 and 2014. He will be eyeing his eighth medal in total at the world championships, equalling Carlos Pérez (ESP) and Luis Ramos Misioné (ESP) as most prolific male from Spain in the competition.

21 August - Heats / Semifinals
23 August - Finals

• René Poulsen (DEN) is the only athlete to finish on the podium of men’s K1 500m multiple times in the last four editions combined, claiming silver in 2013 and gold in 2014.
• The last man to win back-to-back K1 500m world titles is Nathan Baggaley from Australia, winning three consecutive titles from 2002 to 2005.
• Hungary and Russia (as Soviet Union) have won equal-most titles in this event (7), but failed to win any of the last 10.
• Bence Dombvarí (HUN) finished in fourth place in 2013 and grabbed silver behind Poulsen in 2014. The last Hungarian to win this event is Ákos Vereckei who won three successive gold medals between 1998 and 2001.
• Aleksey Mochalov (UZB) is aiming to become the third athlete from Uzbekistan to win a medal at the world championships after Vadim Menkov (G2-S1-B2) and Anton Ryahov (G0-S2-B3).
• Bram Brandjes (NED) has a fifth (2013) and seventh place (2014) in this event at previous world championships. 
• Brandjes is hoping to win Netherland’s first canoe sprint medal in the competition since Anna Wood and Annemiek Derckx grabbed silver in 1987 in women’s K2 500m.
• Paul Mittelstedt (GER) could add a fourth gold medal for Germany (including its predecessors) in this event. Only Hungary (7), Russia (7) and Romania (5) have more.
• Germany (including its predecessors) has won most medals (16) in this event.

20 August - Heats / Semifinals
22 August - Finals

• Josef Dostál (CZE) can become the youngest man to win back-to-back K1 1000m world titles at only 22 years of age.
• Defending champion Josef Dostal (CZE) can become the youngest athlete to retain the men’s K1 1000m world title at the age of 22 years and 172 days.
• The last man to win back-to-back K1 1000m world titles is Max Hoff (GER) who won in 2009 and 2010.
• Hoff has won the world title in three of the last five editions, claiming his third in 2013. Only Rüdiger Helm (GER, 5 titles) and Knut Holmann (NOR, 4) have won this event more often at the world championships.
• René Poulsen (DEN) could become the second world champion from Denmark in this event after Erik Hansen (DEN) in 1963.
• Poulsen claimed bronze at last year’s world championships and finished in second place behind Max Hoff at the European Championships last May.
• Last year, Miroslav Kirchev (BUL) became the first male from Bulgaria to win a world championships medal since 2002 with a second place in this event.
• Kirchev can join Nikolay Bouhalov (BUL, 1993-1995) and Ljubomir Ljubenov (BUL, 1978) as the only male athletes from Bulgaria with a canoe sprint world title. 
• Fernando Pimenta (POR) is eyeing his first individual world championships medal after claiming silver in K4 1000m (2014) and K2 500m (2010). No Portuguese has ever won a medal in the men’s K1 1000m.

23 August - Finals

• This event has been held at the world championships since 2010. Ken Wallace (AUS) won three of the previous four editions (2010, 2013, 2014), Max Hoff (GER) won in 2011.
• Hoff also claimed two silver medals in 2010 and 2014.
• Hoff won the men’s K1 5000m in Baku at the 2015 European Games, ahead of Fernando Pimenta (POR) and Cyrille Carre (FRA).
• Wallace can become the first non-European male to win four gold medals in a single canoe sprint event at the world championships.
• René Poulsen (DEN), 2015 European champion in this event, can become the third male with world championships medals in the K1 500m, 1000m and 5000m after Wallace (2009-2014) and Knut Holmann (NOR, 1990-1999).
• Daniel Dal Bo (ARG), silver medallist in 2013, can become the second multi-medallist from Argentina at the world championships alongside Javier Andrés Correa (ARG, S2-B2).
• Italy’s Maximilian Benassi is hoping for success in front of a home crowd. He has won two bronze medals in this event in 2010 and 2011. 
• Only one other male athlete from Italy has won more than three individual world championships medals - Oreste Perri (6, 1974-1977).

20 August - Heats / Semifinals
22 August - Finals 

• Nebojsa Grujic (SRB) and Marko Novakovic (SRB) are aiming to win back-to-back canoe sprint world titles for Serbia (includes YUG/SCG) for the third time.
• Defending champions Nebojsa Grujic (SRB) and Marko Novakovic (SRB) could retain a canoe sprint world title for Serbia (including its predecessors) for the third time. Milan Janic (YUG) won back-to-back men’s K1 10000m titles in 1978 and 1979 and Matija Ljubek (YUG) and Mirko Nisovic (YUG) men’s C2 500m titles in 1982 and 1983.
• Sébastien Jouve (FRA) and Arnaud Hybois (FRA) are the last team to win back-to-back titles in men’s K2 200m world title in 2010 and 2011. 
• Jouve will compete with Maxime Beaumont (FRA) this year, eyeing a record equalling third gold medal along Lithuania’s Alvydas Duonela and Egidijus Balciunas, Hungary’s Róbert Hegedüs and Australia’s Vince Fehércári.
• Two-time reigning European champions in this event, Ronald Rauhe (GER) and Tom Liebscher (GER), could become the first team to win the world title as reigning European champions since Russia’s Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko in 2013.
• Rauhe has won a record seven medals in this event of which one gold (2006), three silver (2001, 2007, 2014) and three bronze (2002, 2003, 2013).
• British duo Jon Schofield and Liam Heath have finished on the podium in this event in three of the last four editions of the world championships (S2-B1), but have yet to claim their first gold medal.
• Schofield and Heath can become the third male/female British duo with a canoe sprint world title after Stephen Jackson and Alan Williams in men’s K2 10000 (1983) and Ivan Lawler and Grayson Bourne in men’s K2 10000 (1990).

21 August - Heats / Semifinals
23 August - Finals 

• Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Alexeyev and Alexey Dergunov finished fifth in 2014 and they are the highest ranked duo from the 2014 world championships to compete in Milan.
• Kazakhstan can win its first medal in men’s K2 500m.
• Alexeyev will be 37 years and 255 days on the day of the final and he can become the oldest male medallist in this event.
• None of the previous medallists in this event competes in this year’s event.
• Germany (including West Germany and East Germany) has won this event a record 14 times, but not since 2007.
• Kostja Stroinski (GER) and Lukas Reuschenbach (GER) won gold in K2 500m at the 2014 European Juniors & U23 championships.
• Belarus has won a medal in five of the last six world championships (none in 2011), including in 2013 (silver) and 2014 (bronze). All these medals were won by Raman Patriushenka (BLR) and Vadzim Makhnev (BLR) who are not competing in this event this year.
• Germany (including East Germany and West Germany) has won a record 26 total medals in men’s K2 500m.
• Australia’s Ken Wallace finished second in this event at the 2002 World Cup in Milan. Australia won its last of their three medals in this event at the 1999 world championships: bronze. It had also won gold in 1997 and bronze in 1994.

20 August - Heats / Semifinals
22 August - Finals 

• Erik Vlcek (SVK) is hoping to become the fourth athlete with at least three titles in this event.
• Erik Vlcek (SVK) and Juraj Tarr (SVK) are aiming to become the first duo to win back-to-back world titles in men’s K2 1000m since Sweden’s Henrik Nilsson and Marcus Oscarsson in 2002 and 2003.
• Vlcek previously won a gold medal together with Peter Gelle (SVK) in 2011. He can become the fourth athlete with at least three titles in this event along Kay Bluhm (GER, 4 titles), Torsten Gutsche (GER, 4) and Antonio Rossi (ITA, 3).
• Germany (including West and East Germany) have won this event a record 10 times. Marcus Gross (GER) and Max Rendschmidt (GER) are the last German duo to win the world title back in 2013. 
• Rendschmidt, 21 years old, can become the youngest male with multiple world titles in this event, beating compatriot Kay Bluhm who won his second title at 22 years of age.
• Ken Wallace (AUS) and Lachlan Tame (AUS), silver medallists of 2014, can become the second male duo from Australia with a gold medal at the world championships after Andrew Trim (AUS) and Daniel Collins (AUS) in men’s K2 500m (1997). 
• Hungary have six gold medals in men’s K2 1000m at the world championships, second-most of all countries. Their last win came in 2006 with Zoltán Kammerer and Gábor Kucsera.

21 August - Heats
22 August - Semifinals
23 August - Finals

• Czech Republic are hoping to retain their world title of 2014 in this event. They are also the reigning two-time European champions.
• Portugal, silver medallists of 2014, hope to win their second title in any event at the world championships as Emanuel Silva (POR) and Joao Ribeiro (POR) won the men’s K2 500m in 2013. 
• Silva and Ribeiro were also part of Portugal’s team claiming silver in this event last year.
• Germany (including West/East Germany) have won this event a record 15 times. Their last gold medal came in 2011 with Norman Bröckl, Max Hoff, Robert Gleinert and Paul Mittelsteldt.
• Spain grabbed the bronze medal at the 2015 European championships and won last year’s World Cup race in Milan.
• The Spanish team won three medals in men’s K4 1000m at the world championships, but all in the seventies - gold in 1975 and bronze in 1977 and 1978.
• Slovakia won this event at both European championships held in Milan, 2008 and 2001.
• Slovakia won their first world title in this event in 2002 and have claimed four medals ever since their maiden win. Only Germany have won as many medals (5) in that timespan.