Will this season’s rising stars seize their opportunities or will familiar names maintain their grip on the world titles?

Oklahoma City, United States is set to stage the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships from July 20 to 25 – and it looks poised to deliver fantastic races.

Here are five things to look out for during the World Championships.

Click here for the live start lists and results from Oklahoma City 

Fox is back and raring to go

There is no doubt that last year’s World Championships would have stung Jessica Fox. The Australian star was the poster girl for Sydney 2025 but injury forced her to withdraw from the event. Instead, Fox became Australia’s biggest cheerleader as she rallied her teammates from the banks. It has been a tough journey for Fox who underwent surgery last year to remove a tumour from her kidney but the three-time Olympic champion is now back in action and looking in good form. After claiming silver on her return to international action in Tacen, Fox picked up golds in Prague and Augsburg and will now have eyes on the top prizes in Oklahoma City.

Clarke aiming for five on the spin

Whenever Clarke takes on the kayak cross course at a World Championships, there is only going to be one winner. That has been the case in the past four editions with the British star winning four on the trot. There was no touching Clarke in Sydney last year as he stormed ahead before powering to victory, leaving the rest of the field trailing. Clarke arrives in Oklahoma City in good form and will be eager to continue his sensational kayak cross form at World Championships.

French pairing seek to hit top form

Last year, it felt like a procession when Nicolas Gestin and Titouan Castryck took to the water in Sydney. There was no stopping the French stars as they eased to victory with Gestin and Castryck capturing respective canoe and kayak golds. Given their form heading into Sydney, it was no surprise to see them emerge victorious. This year, however, things are not so certain. Castryck has experienced a difficult start to the season, while Gestin triumphed in Prague only to follow that up by failing to make it into the men’s C1 final in Augsburg.

Rising stars eager to make mark

As the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series has shown so far this year, it’s the time of the rising stars to step up to the plate. Slovenia’s Ziga Lin Hocevar clinched two gold medals at the opening World Cup on home waters in Tacen before Italy’s Xabier Ferrazzi struck gold in Prague. Czechia’s Jakub Krejci is another great young talent in sensational form having bagged a home double in Prague before coming out on top again in Augsburg. Another young paddler to watch is Great Britain’s Sam Leaver who recently clinched the men’s U23 world crown in K1. In the women’s competition, Eva Alina Hocevar of Slovenia has been producing some impressive performances this season, while Czechia’s Tereza Kneblova has been making some great strides.

Leibfarth leads home charge

It’s just two years to go until Oklahoma City stages the Canoe Slalom competition at the LA28 Olympic Games and the home fans will be hoping for United States success. There will be similar feelings this week as US paddlers seek to make home advantage count. Evy Leibfarth is the US team’s biggest medal hope and received a morale boosting medal in Augsburg last month. Other US stars to watch out for include Casey Eichfeld, Ria Sribar and Michal Smolden.

Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Oklahoma City can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.

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