Another year of pulsating Canoe Sprint action has come to an end with the International Canoe Federation season packed full of stunning performances. Let’s look back at the 2025 campaign.
Luzan is all-conquering in a canoe
Milan was the stage of this year’s ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships and the location where Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan swept all before her. There is no doubt that the Italian city will hold a special place in Luzan’s heart after she clinched four world titles. Luzan formed an unstoppable canoe double with Iryna Fedoriv, winning golds over 200m and 500m and was just as sensational on her own in a boat. No one could catch Luzan as she won the women’s canoe single 500m before coming out on top in a stacked field to win gold in the women’s C1 200m to complete a remarkable week in Milan.
Pulawska rises to pole as Carrington takes breather
There was a big announcement in May when eight-time Olympic champion Lisa Carrington revealed that she would not compete internationally in 2025. With the New Zealander watching on from home, it created an opening for someone else to take the kayak crown. That paddler was Poland’s Anna Pulawska. The Pole started the season in style, winning the women’s kayak single titles in both 200m and 500m at the opening ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged before starring on home waters. Competing in Poznan, the home favourite delivered gold again in the women’s K1 500m. Carrington returned to action at the World Championships in Milan, coming in as a late replacement for the injured Olivia Brett in New Zealand’s team. But with Carrington only competing in the women’s kayak four 500m, Pulawska continued her dominance in the K1 500m, clinching the world title, and she also triumphed with Martyna Klatt in the women’s kayak double 500m.
Flying Fuksa is winning machine
A self-proclaimed medal collector, Czechia’s Martin Fuksa boosted his cabinet with more silverware following a sensational Canoe Sprint season. After making his dreams come true with gold at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Fuksa could have been forgiven for taking his foot off the gas in 2025, but he continued to assert his authority in a canoe. The 32-year-old hit the ground running with gold in the men’s C1 1000m at the first World Cup in Szeged before doing the double in Poznan. Oozing with confidence, Fuksa pulled clear of the field to win over 500m and 1000m on Polish waters. He was also crowned European champion in the men’s C1 500m. Although he missed out on gold in the men’s C1 1000m, losing to Romania’s Catalin Chirila in Racice, Fuksa ensured he was top dog again in Milan, sealing the world title with a fantastic display.
K4 battles intensify as Portugal and Spain reach summit
When a new Olympic cycle begins, it is an opportunity for nations to change their team boats as they look to freshen things up. In the men’s K4, Germany and Hungary occupied the top two spots in the World Cups, winning a title apiece, and they looked set to battle it out again at the World Championships. But Portugal, made up of Gustavo Goncalves, Joao Ribeiro, Messias Baptista and Pedro Casinha, had other ideas. After stunning the field to win gold at the European Championships, the Portuguese quartet emerged victorious again at the World Championships. In the women’s K4, Spain gave a glimpse of their potential with gold at the first World Cup in Szeged before edging China by 0.10 to clinch the world crown in Milan. The Spanish partnership of Sara Ouzande, Lucia Val, Estefania Fernandez and Barbara Pardo look like they will prove hard to stop on the road to LA28.
Yarchevska and Drobot show future is bright
Aged just 20 years old, Spain’s Vikotriia Yarchevska announced her name on the big stage with an awesome performance to seal women’s C1 200m gold at the World Cup in Szeged. She then backed that up by joining forces with Angels Moreno to claim European titles in the women’s C2 200m and women’s C2 500m. Another 20-year-old in Natalia Drobot of Australia also starred in 2025, winning the women’s K2 500m title with Kailey Harlen at the World Cup in Poznan and securing women’s K1 500m silver at the World Championships in Milan. Hungary continues to demonstrate their wealth of talent as Zsofia Csorba, 22, and Zsoka Csikos, 24, won major titles and Agnes Kiss, 20, impressed alongside Bianka Kiss, 25, in the C2 in the World Cups. China’s Nan Wang, 25, is another paddler born in the 2000s making waves, clinching the world crown in the women’s K1 200m and securing two Asian titles. Great strides are also being made in Africa, with South Africa’s Hamish Lovemore storming to a stunning men’s K1 1000m silver in Szeged, and other paddlers who had benefitted from ICF Development Camps won medals at the recent African Championships.
