From being the fashion capital of the world to hosting prestigious events, Milan has consistently struck a balance between elegance, style, and tradition.
As the Idroscalo Regatta Course in the city is set to host the 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships again, here is a look at what happened when the flagship event took place 10 years ago.
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Paralympic qualifier debut
A historic World Championships for more reasons than one, it was the first time Paracanoe athletes got a chance to secure Paralympic qualification, as the discipline made its debut at Rio 2016. While there were six world titles up for grabs in Italy, only the KL1, KL2, and KL3 were contested at the Games in Brazil. In the women’s category, Great Britain stars stole the show with Jeanette Chippington clinching the KL1 200m title while the KL2 200m gold went to compatriot Emma Wiggs. Amanda Reynolds of Australia stole the show, finishing first in KL3. In the men’s races, Luis Carlos Cardosa Da Silva of Brazil, Markus Mendy Swoboda of Austria, and Tom Kiery of Germany won gold in the men’s KL1, KL2, and KL3, respectively.
Italian history
Ten years ago, Milan hosted the World Championships for the second time. The first time was in 1999, and interestingly, it is the only Italian city to have hosted the event in the country so far. In 2015, there were no home paddlers on the podium in Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe, but that is likely to change in 2025, considering their recent dominance.
Going strong
Martin Fuksa and Josef Dostal of Czechia, Isaquias Guimaraes Queiroz of Brazil, Max Rendschmidt of Germany, Lisa Carrington of New Zealand, Wiggs, Susan Seipel, and Curtis McGrath of Australia are among the many stars who stood on the podium 10 years ago. In 2025, all of them are still going strong, winning at the highest level. Proving themselves time and again, as recently as at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, most of them already have their eyes firmly set on LA28.
Hungary dominate quotas
Also acting as an Olympic qualifier, it was the Hungarians who secured maximum qualification spots for Rio 2016, despite finishing third on the medals table in which Belarus and Germany were the top two. Hungary sealed nine boats and an athlete quota of 15. It also saw Argentina crews enjoying success, as for the first time, the South American nation qualified in the kayak four men’s 1000m and in the women’s K4 500m.
Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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