Olympic medallists from last year have begun the new season in style with impressive performances at the 2025 Canoe Slalom Oceania Championships.
Athletes from 16 nations competed at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, which will host the 2025 International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships in October.
The sensational Jessica Fox picked up right where she left off last year, winning the women’s kayak final in 104.41, beating Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska in second, and France’s Camille Prigent in third.
“With the World Championships here in October, we’re seeing more athletes come out , so it’s awesome to be sharing the start line with them, training sessions, and being back altogether,” Fox was quoted as saying by Paddle Australia.
“It feels like it was a long time ago since the last international race, so I’m loving it.”
Clocking 93.57, Mathieu Biazizzo of France was the fastest in the men’s kayak final, pipping Paris 2024 kayak cross gold medallist Finn Butcher of New Zealand. Australian Lucien Delfour, a two-time Olympian, grabbed the bronze medal.
Evy Leibfarth of the United States was back on the podium, with the Olympic bronze medallist’s timing of 114.91 enough to get the better of Fox in the women's canoe final. Zwolinska added to her tally by finishing third.
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The men’s C1 title went to Paris 2024 silver medallist Adam Burgess of Great Britain, who finished fastest with 104.25 despite a two-second penalty for a touch on gate 15.
Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Dmitrii Khramtsov got silver and Australian Olympian Tristan Carter bronze.
Ben Pope of Australia and Ricarda Funk of Germany won the men’s and women’s kayak cross gold medals, respectively.
Frenchman Mathurin Madore finished with silver while Switzerland's Jan Rohrer took bronze.
The women’s kayak cross competition saw Kimberley Woods of Great Britain take silver, with bronze going to Maialen Chourraut of Spain.
For home athletes, the event is one of the two selection trials that will decide the team that will compete on the ICF World Cup circuit and the World Championships.
Czechia and Brazil stand out in Rio
Last week also saw Canoe Slalom action take place at Brazil's Deodoro Radical Park, the venue for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The Rio Open, which served as a selection trial for the 2025 Pan American Championship, in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, also saw an ICF World Ranking event being held parallelly.
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Martina Satkova, who finished second overall in the women’s canoe at the 2024 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup series, was the fastest in Brazil.
The Czech star was a cut above the rest, finishing +17.88 ahead of second-placed Brazilian Beatriz Da Motta and her compatriot Daniela Sofia in third.
The hosts, however, won three gold medals starting with Kaua Da Silva, who took the men's canoe title in 99.56.
Another Brazilian Charles Correa took silver, and bronze went to Manuel Tripano of Argentina in 101.78.
In the women's kayak, Paris 2024 Olympian Ana Satila got the better of Katerina Bekova with a timing of 104.76. Brazil's Omira Estacia Neta took the final place on the podium in 108.38.
Mathieu Desnos of Brazil took gold in the men's kayak final, clocking 89.37, followed by Jakub Krejci of Czechia and another home athlete Guilherme Mapelli.
Picture by Paddle Australia.
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