It has been a year like no other for the International Canoe Federation, with significant achievements and milestones on and off the water. In the last of our season reviews, we look at all the successes and memorable stories in Wildwater Canoeing, Canoe Freestyle and Canoe Polo.
French Connection
As Sabero welcomed the best wildwater canoeists for the World Championships four days after the Olympic Games, the French were expected to do well. And they did exactly that! France topped the medals table by winning 13 of the 22 events. Laura Fontaine stood out for the French, clinching the women’s canoe single titles in both the classic and sprint categories. She also helped France win the women’s C1 teams sprint and women’s C1 teams classic crowns. Her compatriot Theo Viens assisted with a five-star display, capturing five gold medals, including the men’s C1 title. It was also a great tournament for the Slovenians, thanks to Anze Urankar, who retained his sprint title, and Simon Oven who captured the classic crown for the second time. Before the World Championships, France and Italy enjoyed success at the ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Cups in Veles and Mezzana.Countless reels and TikToks have featured it, and we are bringing this masterpiece from Lynyrd Skynyrd back. It is the only fitting background music for an Ottilie Robinson-Shaw highlights post, as she marked an emotional return to Canoe Freestyle. A year after a career-threatening shoulder dislocation, it was tears of joy for the paddler from Great Britain in Platting, Germany, as she won a gold medal in the women’s kayak squirt final. In September, she added two more gold medals at the European Canoe Association Canoe Freestyle European Championships in Graz, Austria, capping off a brilliant season. Plattling also gave reigning world champion Landon Miller of the United States plenty of joy. He was involved in a close battle with home favourite Philip Josef, before triumphing in the open canoe surface category. There were also wins for France's Tom Dolle and Japan’s Hitomi Takaku in the respective men’s and women’s kayak events in the other ICF World Cup in Germany.
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Free Bird
Countless reels and TikToks have featured it, and we are bringing this masterpiece from Lynyrd Skynyrd back. It is the only fitting background music for an Ottilie Robinson-Shaw highlights post, as she marked an emotional return to Canoe Freestyle. A year after a career-threatening shoulder dislocation, it was tears of joy for the paddler from Great Britain in Platting, Germany, as she won a gold medal in the women’s kayak squirt final. In September, she added two more gold medals at the European Canoe Association Canoe Freestyle European Championships in Graz, Austria, capping off a brilliant season. Plattling also gave reigning world champion Landon Miller of the United States plenty of joy. He was involved in a close battle with home favourite Philip Josef, before triumphing in the open canoe surface category. There were also wins for France's Tom Dolle and Japan’s Hitomi Takaku in the respective men’s and women’s kayak events in the other ICF World Cup in Germany.
Back-to-back Action
With all the clashes, shots and sensational goals, Canoe Polo is exciting as it is. This year, we were treated to two blockbuster tournaments one after the other. As the discipline made its debut at the ICF Hangzhou Super Cup, it gave us a taste of what to expect at the World Championships soon after. Germany and Spain won the men's and women's titles, respectively, at the 2022 Asian Games venue, before heading to Deqing to fight for World Games spots. The Germans retained their world title with a 2-1 triumph over France as the flagship event was held in Asia after 20 years. In the women's tournament, New Zealand crushed Italy 6-1 to claim their first world title since 2016. The action in Hangzhou and Deqing provided plenty of drama and mind-blowing athletic performances!
