Hungary dominated the 2021 ICF canoe marathon medal table in what may well be the final appearance at a world championships for some of the biggest names in the sport.

The Hungarians finished with 23 medals, of which 11 of them were gold. The next best countries were Denmark with six medals, three of them gold, while Ukraine with two gold and two bronze finished third.

Sixteen countries from three continents won medals.

The 2021 world championships also served as a qualification event for the debut of canoe marathon at next year’s The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Official confirmation of the countries who have earned quotas will be made soon.

The future for Hungarian kayak legend Renata Csay is uncertain, after the veteran of more than 20 world championships finished out of the medals for the first time in her career.

The 44-year-old finished fourth with Zsofia Czellai-Voros in the women’s K2, a race she was won on 13 occasions. With the next generation of strong young Hungarian women asserting themselves in Pitesti, it may be tough for Csay to continue at the highest level.

Also nearing the end of his career is South African legend, Hank McGregor. The 43-year-old with 11 world championship gold medals finished seventh in the men’s K1, and then he and Hamish Lovemore stuck with the leaders until the penultimate lap in the men’s K2 before fading to finish sixth.

Spain’s Oscar Grana is the same age as Csay, and won his first medal in the men’s C2 at the 2005 world championships. The four-time world champion has missed a medal at the past two world championships, finishing fifth with Jose Manuel Sanchez Sanchez in the C2 on Sunday.