Olympic and world champions head the strongest ever start list assembled for an ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup, to be held at the Riversport World Paddlesports Festival in Oklahoma City this weekend.

Olympic champions Tom Leibscher and Max Lemke of Germany, Marcus Cooper of Spain and American Nevin Harrison will be among the star attractions for the 350 metre events, raced in both kayak and canoe on Friday and Saturday.

40 athletes from 20 different nations will take part in the invitation-only event. Among the world champions set to line up are Canada’s Katie Vincent, Germany’s Jacob Schopf, Australia’s Alyssa Bull, Romania’s Catalin Chirila and Denmark’s Emma Jorgensen.

The ICF Super Cup returns to the Riversport venue after a successful competition last year. The 350 metre finals are held under lights and this year will be the centrepiece of a three-day festival featuring an ICF stand up paddling world cup, Red Bull rapids and dragon boat racing.

This will be the fourth ICF Super Cup, after previous events in Russia, China and last year’s event in Oklahoma City. This year’s event was originally scheduled to return to Russia, but was moved after the invasion of Ukraine.

The ICF SUP events will feature sprint, technical and long distance races, and will be the third world cup for the season. It will also provide athletes with a final major race ahead of next month’s ICF SUP World Championships in Gdynia, Poland.

“This will be a unique opportunity to showcase different forms of paddlesports in an exciting location to a worldwide audience,” ICF President Thomas Konietzko said.

“Last year the athletes had a wonderful time competing at the Riversport venue, and there was a lot of positive feedback about the opportunity to race under lights. Being part of a paddlesports festival is adding another element to our sport which we are very excited to be part of.”

The World Paddlesports Festival will begin on Friday and run through until Sunday.

Canoe Sprint
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