ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They are usually held every non-Olympic year and have officially included paracanoe events since 2010; paracanoe-specific editions of this event (named ICF Paracanoe World Championships) are usually held in Summer Paralympic years.

Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing.

Explanation of events

Canoe sprint competitions are broken up into canoe (C), an open canoe with a single-blade paddle, or in kayaks (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. Each canoe or kayak can hold one person (1), two people (2), or four people (4). For each of the specific canoes or kayaks, such as a K-1 (kayak single), the competition distances can be 200 metres (660 ft), 500 metres (1,600 ft), 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), or 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) long. When a competition is listed as a C-2 500 m event as an example, it means two people are in a canoe competing at a 500 metres (1,600 ft) distance.

Paracanoe competitions are contested in either a va'a (V), an outrigger canoe (which includes a second pontoon) with a single-blade paddle, or in a kayak (as above). All international competitions are held over 200 metres in single-man boats, with three event classes in both types of vessel for men and women depending on the level of an athlete's impairment. The lower the classification number, the more severe the impairment is – for example, VL1 is a va'a competition for those with particularly severe impairments.

Editions

ICF Paracanoe World Championships (paracanoe events only)

Events exclude exhibition events.

Note

The 2020 ICF Paracanoe World Championships were cancelled as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Events

(*) Indicates exhibition events (not counted towards total)

Editions Junior and U23

ICF Canoe Sprint Junior World Championships from 1985 to 2011
ICF Canoe Sprint Junior and U23 World Championships from 2013

Source:

Lists of medalists

List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in men's Canadian
List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in women's Canadian
List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in men's kayak
List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in women's kayak
List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in paracanoe

Medal tables

Note

References

Sources

2008 ICF Congress on change from flatwater racing to canoe sprint. – accessed 30 November 2008.
"The Board of Directors Wrap Up in Windsor". – International Canoe Federation (5 December 2009) – accessed 18 December 2009.
Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). "Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007) – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint)" (PDF). CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 1–41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). "Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007) – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines" (PDF). CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 42–83. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). "Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007)" (PDF). CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 1–83. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2021.