Slovakia and Great Britain emerged victorious on an exciting day of canoe teams events at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships in Oklahoma City, United States.
The British team struck gold in the men’s canoe teams, while Slovakia also overcame defending champions to triumph in the women’s canoe teams.
Click here for the live start lists and results from Oklahoma City
France picked up silver and bronze medals, while Germany and Czechia also got on the podium.
Here’s what the medallists had to say after an action-packed Wednesday.
Men’s Canoe Teams
Great Britain (gold)
Ryan Westley said: Before Peter came onto the team, he sent me a video of our last World Championships teams event where Adam (Burgess) went into the side of my boat and I went straight into Peter’s chest. We thought we were setting the tone for the season but to come out and get this win means a lot. It’s the first time any of us can call ourselves world champions so it means a lot.
Adam Burgess said: Ryan and I have been teammates for quite a while now. We have paddled in these positions multiple times over the year and we are comfortable with where we go. Last year, we had a tactical change that really paid off for us with a change in the order and today with me getting away at gate seven really paid off.
France (silver)
Nicolas Gestin said: It has been a hard fight with the British team since 2023. The last two times we won but this time they just got in front of us. We are hoping to progress a bit in our team run and I hope we will be unbeatable in the Europeans.
Germany (bronze)
Sideris Tasiadis said: It feels amazing to be back on the podium in the team event at the World Championships. We always want to bring back a medal. It’s very warm here but the people have been very welcoming and very friendly saying they are happy to have us in our city.
Women’s Canoe Teams
Slovakia (gold)
Emanuela Luknarova said: We are really happy that we made the best run that we could and it was enough for the gold so it’s amazing.
Sona Stanovska said: We were pretty happy with this run, managing the tricky parts really well. We looked at each other and we just knew that it would be fast and clean.
Czechia (silver)
Tereza Kneblova said: I feel amazing. I am so grateful that I was able to experience this with my team. I really enjoyed training, so I am so glad that we made it to the podium.
Martina Satkova said: It has been a good experience. The course now is better than the last time, so everything is better than we were expecting. It’s good to be here.
France (bronze)
Marjorie Delassus said: It’s crazy. We are so happy to share this medal together and it’s a first time in a while for the French team to get on the podium in the World Championships so we are really happy.
Related links
