There was an historic first for Japan, a gold medal decided by a hair’s breadth for France and another impressive display by Czechia on the third day of competition in Sydney, Australia. 

After securing C1 titles on Tuesday, France’s men’s team and Czechia’s women’s team clinched K1 golds on Wednesday at the International Canoe Federation Slalom World Championships. 

Japan achieved their first-ever medal at the World Championships after being edged out by France, while Great Britain, Germany and Slovenia also got on the podium. 

Here’s what the medallists had to say after a wonderful Wednesday.  

Click here for live startlists and results from Sydney

Women’s Kayak Teams 

Gabriela SATKOVA (CZE – gold) 

I think we did a really good run. We were pretty tight in some upstreams, especially the last one - me and Antonie didn't know if we were going to hit each other or not. Luckily, it all went okay, and it was actually fast in the end, so I'm really happy we took that risk and it brought us gold at the World Championships. I think that's amazing. 

Lucie NESNIDALOVA (CZE – gold) 

I think it's really special to win gold in K1. We have the big four from the last few years, so it means a lot to win it, and we'll start with the big one on the next World Championships. So, it's amazing. 

Antonie GALUSKOVA (CZE – gold) 

It was really amazing because we know each other's reactions. We all trust each other, which is the most important thing during this race, because we had many close calls but because we trusted each other. 

Ricarda FUNK (GER – silver) 

I think we have a good mindset, and we work quite well as a team. We were looking for each other, taking care of each other and I think this is the most important. 

Emily APEL (GER – silver) 

Just before the race, we told each other that we could do it. We put our fists together and screamed "Let's go".  We knew we had a good harmony, and we trained for it, so it's really nice. 

Elena LILIK  (GER – silver) 

It feels really special because I didn't go through the heat this morning. So, I'm more than happy that I will go back home with at least a medal, because the medals are really beautiful. I saw them yesterday from the C1 German team. It's the first time I compete at the senior World Championships, and the atmosphere is amazing.  

Ajda NOVAK (SLO – bronze)  

It was amazing. I felt like we had a great run almost all the way, we just had some problems at the end, but the course was tricky. 

Eva Alina HOCEVAR (SLO – bronze) 

We still need to focus because we all still have some races to go. We will celebrate a bit today, but very quickly. The big celebration will be after all the races. 

Men’s Kayak Teams 

Anatole DELASSUS (FRA – gold) 

We prepared for the teams race stage by stage. First, we all went back to the hotel, we took some time to rest and to recover. Then we had a big talk down by the water – to look at the lines, figure out who would go where, and make sure we would be in sync. But of course, the three of us are really close friends, and there’s a kind of chemistry between us. In high-stakes moments like today, that really clicks. It’s so cool to share this with Benjamin and Titouan. Obviously, the teams event means a little less to us than the individual one – but I hope we can carry this momentum into our individual races. 

Titouan CASTRYCK (FRA – gold) 

It’s the first time I’ve been on a team with just my close friends – and it’s so good. 
We’ve been training together for three years now, I think, but this is the first time all three of us were actually on the same team. You’ve got to remember, team events are mostly three strong individual boats – each of us has to do our own race. So, we each did our part, we kept the right spacing, and that’s what has made us win today. 

Benjamin RENIA (FRA – gold) 

Winning as a team really is different. It’s a lot of emotion. But it’s not quite the same as winning individually, you can’t really compare both. I’m so happy to share this with my friends, and for sure it’s a memory I’ll never forget, because the joy is something we all get to share together. And that’s something we’ll be able to talk about for years to come. 

Yusuke MUTO (JAP – silver) 

I’m so happy, it’s unbelievable Everybody was so nervous waiting for the last team, we knew we could have a medal because the time was really good. My hand was shaking because I was so nervous. Coming into the World Championships, we knew we could do really good, but it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true. 

Ben HAYLETT (GBR – bronze) 

I’m really happy with that performance. Joe (Clarke) and I had a bit of a nightmare of a morning, we didn't make it through the heats. So, to refocus and go again was really good. We've had a bit of experience with teams over the years, but it's never been that tight of a race and 0.10 splitting the podium is outrageous. But we've paddled really well out there and left a little bit on the bottom, but overall, pretty happy.  

Joseph CLARKE (GBR – bronze) 

We're going to go home and work on Johnny's (Dickson) reflex to reach for the line, because that's all the difference was. It's obviously good to be so tight, to be so close - it's better than being a million miles away, but also, it means that we were massively up on the splits and just got a little bit caught in the bottom section. So, it's frustrating, but plenty more to come and hopefully we can use that as a slingshot to more successes in the future as a team. It would have been nice to go 0.1 quicker, so we can hear the national anthem. That's always the pinnacle, really, that's the goal. That's what we've come out here for. To see the flag still raising on the flag pole's is still pretty special.