If dominance had a synonym in paddle sport, it would have to be Mads Brandt Pedersen and Melina Andersson. The duo were unstoppable as they cruised to a double gold at The World Games Chengdu 2025, making them an obvious choice for the moments of the year.
For the last two years, Denmark’s Mads Brandt Pedersen and Sweden’s Melina Andersson have been the king and queen of Canoe Marathon, and in China, they retained that status.
Pedersen was given a run for his money by South Africa's Hamish Lovemore in the short and long distance races, resulting in exciting sprint finishes, but the Dane had saved a whole new gear to power through.
In the latter, Pedersen showed why he is the absolute best of the field right now, as he stopped paddling 50m before the finish line, knowing he had done it.
“There is a lot of strategy that comes into play. The best guys in the world are here,” Pedersen said after winning the short distance gold.
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“To win this is a huge honour. The heat was a bit too much. When the body temperature is rising, it is hard to keep up the speed.”
The women’s battle came down to Andersson and Hungarian Vanda Kiszli, as expected, with the Swede triumphing on both occasions.
Rivals on the water and friends off it, Andersson and Kiszli put on a show in Chengdu, but the former’s smooth transitions in portages and technique were simply out of this world.
She pulled away from Kiszli at the right moment to seal a famous double, continuing to lead the head-to-head with the Hungarian that started at the 2024 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic, Croatia.
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“I think the big waves made the difference today. I am very used to these conditions, and I was still struggling a bit, so I think it was very hard,” Andersson said after the long distance.
“Vanda and I worked well together for most laps, and I just felt really strong, but because of the waves, I wanted to have a lot of time in the last two portages to make room for mistakes. That's why I decided to break free.”
The fact that the duo battled fierce weather conditions makes the victories all the more impressive.
At the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor, Hungary, in September, both of them faced a slight hiccup in the short distance, winning silver, but struck back two days later to claim gold medals in the long distance, reasserting their dominance and ending the season in style.
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