Stakes will be raised in Oklahoma City this week as the pathway to the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 begins with the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships.
More than 250 athletes from 50 nations are set to compete at RIVERSPORT Rapids which will host the Olympic Canoe Slalom competition in two years’ time.
The World Championships will be the first event to offer Olympic Ranking points, giving athletes the opportunity to launch their bids for LA28.
Click here for the live start lists and results from Oklahoma City
United States’ hopes will rest on Olympic medallist Evy Leibfarth who will be seeking to make home advantage count.
She leads an 11-strong US team that also features Michal Smolen who has made an impressive return to racing after taking a break from competition to coach in New Zealand and China.
Australia’s Jessica Fox is also back in action at the World Championships and looking to boost her medal collection.
The three-time Olympic champion was ruled out of starring on home waters at last year’s World Championships after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour from her kidney.
Since returning to international action in the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series, Fox has been in fine form, winning a canoe-kayak double in Prague before securing C1 gold again in Augsburg.
She is set to face competition from the likes of Germany’s Ricarda Funk, Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods and France’s Camille Prigent.
Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska is another strong contender and will aiming to retain her titles having clinched golds in K1 and C1 in Sydney last year.
France’s Nicolas Gestin and Titouan Castryck turned their World Cup form into world titles in 2025, cementing themselves as the leaders in C1 and K1, respectively.
This year, things have not gone as smoothly for the French pair. Gestin won in Prague but missed out on medals in Tacen and Augsburg, while Castryck has struggled to hit top form on the World Cup circuit in 2026.
Slovenia’s Ziga Lin Hocevar, Italy’s Xabier Ferrazzi and Czechia’s Jakub Krejci are among the rising stars that have made an impact this season.
Hocecar opened the campaign with a double gold on home waters in Tacen, while Ferrazzi and Krejci have tasted K1 success in 2026.
They will all be hunting their first senior world title in Oklahoma City.
Great Britain’s Joseph Clarke is also on a mission as he bids to secure a fifth successive world kayak cross crown.
The British star has become the kayak cross king, winning the event in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Competition will begin on Monday with Switzerland’s Alena Marx and Spain’s David Llorente aiming to defend their titles in the respective women’s and men’s kayak cross individual.
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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