Athletes are the crux of any sport, but without the fans to cheer them on, the energy that brings the competition to life would be missing.
Not only did they make the 2025 International Canoe Federation season a grand success across different venues, but they also showed their enthusiasm on social media.
Here are the best of the best from ICF social media in 2025.
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When In Doubt, Stop!
Probably not the best advice for athletes, but it seemed to have worked for Lucas Santos. Thankfully for the Brazilian, his closest competitor, Aleksandr Mineev, followed suit. An unusual photo finish, which garnered 7.26 million views.
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Vipera Evanesca
Blink twice, and he is gone. Little did we know that, apart from being a freestyle paddler, Brian Knight of the United States was a wizard. His disappearing act during the squirt event was viewed 1.64 million times.
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Coach Carter
With 1.06 million views, this was pure love. As the Czech athletes battled the portages during the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships, their coach ensured they were well-hydrated. Cue, touching background score.
@planetcanoe Throwback to when our canoe marathon athlete channelled their inner Darth Vader and decided to canoe the race on 'force' power alone! ???? Who needs a paddle when you've got the Dark Side? ⚡ #ICFmarathon #starwars #darthvader #paddleyoumust #superoarpower ♬ original sound - PlanetCanoe
The Force Is Strong With This One
Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, would be proud as he looks on from the Sith cave. No surprise as 620K people viewed this on TikTok, with the athlete channelling the force to get the dropped paddle back to his hand.
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Mine, Mine, Mine...
One boat, two athletes. Comical chaos. This had everything. At one point, they almost pulled off a ‘Rose and Jack’. This hilarious clip was viewed 537K times.
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Blowing In The Wind
Sometimes, the answer is not blowing in the wind. This particular duo from the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Durban learned that the hard way. The video of their boat getting carried away by waves generated 383K views.
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Final Countdown
A slip during the technical final of the ICF SUP World Championships was not going to stop Joao Lourenco from finishing with a medal in the junior men’s final. His resilience was loved by fans on social media, amassing 277K views.
Star Power
When you are Lisa Carrington, you don’t have to be on a boat to get views. Club that with rugby legend Dan Carter and you get 237K views on the ICF website.
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Suiiiiiiii
As Susanna Cicali jumped out of her boat to celebrate the women’s kayak single 5000m silver in Milan, it looked like she was about to hit the famous CR7 celebration. Turns out she was just jumping out of joy, with the post getting 233K views.
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What’s Stopping You?
Need inspiration? One look at this video of Paracanoe paddler Jonathan White is enough. Turns out, it was looked at 211K times.
*All views are on Instagram unless mentioned otherwise.
