In the first of our big interviews with the 2025 International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series winners, we spoke with men’s overall canoe champion Nicolas Gestin of France.
Reigniting the flame inside you after achieving the ultimate goal in your sport is not always easy.
Winning Olympic gold is every athlete’s dream – and Nicolas Gestin did so on home waters at a rocking Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris.
It’s the crowning moment that Gestin is asked about on a regular basis and will be forever etched in French paddle sport history.
But Gestin has not allowed himself to rest on his laurels and simply bask in the glory of this incredible achievement.
The 25-year-old Frenchman has backed up his Olympic title by enjoying his greatest ICF season yet, capped by winning his first individual World Cup crown.
He swept to victory in the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series with dominance in the men’s C1 before capturing C1 gold at the ICF Slalom World Championships in Sydney.
“For sure, 2025 was incredible for me,” said Gestin.
“I don’t know if I can manage another season like this in future years.
“I am really happy to do this year after the Olympic Games.
“It was quite hard to come back to training so to perform at this level with the confidence of the Games is really cool and I really enjoyed the season.”
Gestin returned to competition in May at the scene of his Olympic triumph as he competed at the European Canoe Slalom Championships.
A silver medal at the Vaires-sur-Marne Naturical Stadium was followed by a bronze medal at the opening leg of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series in La Seu in June which was beyond Gestin’s expectations.
“I had a big break after the Olympic Games and had been preparing since February,” said Gestin.
“At the European Championships, I knew that I might not perform but that was okay. I hadn’t trained a lot and just wanted to do my best so I was super happy to get second and then to come back in La Seu and get another medal was great.”
After those back-to-back major medals, Gestin endured his worst result of the year in Pau when he received four two-second penalties in the heats.
But this proved to be a minor blip in a near flawless campaign. After a strong training block in July and August, Gestin came out flying.
Gestin topped a French one-two-three in Prague before winning gold in Tacen and then delivered his best performance of the season in Augsburg to seal the overall title in the men’s C1.
“I was feeling super great,” said Gestin.
“I knew I had the speed so I just enjoyed my run and wanted to take risks to make some races that I will remember afterwards.
“I feel like Augsburg was the best memory for me this season even if the World Championships was incredible.
“I won in Augsburg, but it was done in a way I wanted to win.”
One key source of motivation for Gestin is a French team that is packed full of canoe talent pushing him in training and competition.
Yohann Senechault held the lead in the overall standings for much of the season, earning medals in Pau, Prague and Tacen before being overtaken by Gestin.
Mewen Debliquy was another French paddler to star this season.
“This generation is beautiful, and I feel like we will have more paddlers which will push me for years to come,” said Gestin.
“I am really happy to share this with Yohann and Mewen as we are good friends, but I know in the C1 men we have many battles in future years.”
The French trio combined brilliantly to win the men’s C1 teams title at the World Championships in Sydney before Gestin added another gold.
He handled the pressure of being heavy favourite to clinch the world crown in impression fashion.
“To become world champion is a dream for me,” said Gestin.
“Since 2010, I have watched every single World Championships, so this is a great achievement.”
Gestin is now the reigning world and Olympic champion and holder of the World Cup Series crown.
So what’s next on the agenda for the all-conquering Frenchman?
“I feel like it’s quite hard to define some challenge for me now,” said Gestin.
“The next challenge will be to defend the world title and defend the Olympic title but for me it is more important to show the paddling I would like to show than to think about titles.
“For sure, my motivation goes up and down.
“It will be a big down after the World Championships, but I feel like that’s okay.
“You just need to take your time, sometimes do other sports or other challenges and you will come back if you want.
“I did the hardest part after the Olympic Games as it was really intense and for months afterwards, I had no motivation.
“Now I feel like I would like to paddle a lot.
“Winning the overall World Cup means a lot to me.
“For many paddlers it is important to perform at many courses and it’s a good title to have so I will try to defend it in 2026.”
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