Current and former world champions will line up next week to contest the 2023 International Canoe Federation Freestyle World Championships on the Chattahoochee River in Columbus and Phenix City in the United States.
Less than 12 months after the record-breaking heroics of Great Britain’s Ottilie Robinson-Shaw and USA’s Dane Jackson at Nottingham, GB, the pair will be back again next week to take on a long list of potential challengers to their titles.
Robinson-Shaw will need to be at her very best if she is to once again climb to the heights she achieved at Nottingham. The then 20-year-old achieved what no other female freestyle paddler had ever achieved before, winning all three gold medals on offer.
The veteran Jackson once again showed last year that he is still at the top of his game, twisting and turning his way to a fourth men’s kayak title, and maintaining a streak which has seen him podium at every world championships since 2013.
29-year-old Jackson will be aiming for a third consecutive kayak title in next week’s championships.
The list of challengers to Jackson is long, headed by last year’s silver medalist, Poland’s Tomasz Czaplicki, and bronze medalist, Harry Price from Great Britain. The last person to beat Jackson, 2017 world champion and 2019 silver medalist, Joaquim Fontane of Spain, Frenchman Tom Dolle and Ireland’s David McClure will also have a say in the final podium.
The biggest challenge to Robinson-Shaw is likely to once again come from Japan’s Hitomi Takaku, runner-up last year and world champion in 2019. 2019 bronze medalist Zofia Tula from Poland, and American Emily Jackson, are always guaranteed to perform well on the big stage.
In canoe, USA’s Landon Miller will be back to defend the first world title he picked up in Nottingham. Dane Jackson, a three-time gold medalist and runner-up at the past two world championships, and 2019 champion Tom Dolle will be fighting for the number one position.
Women’s canoe made its debut in Nottingham, with Robinson-Shaw a convincing winner. Although the numbers and overall strength of the field has increased since las year’s titles, The British paddler will once again start a warm favourite.
Clay Wright has an outstanding record in the men’s squirt competition, winning four of the past five world titles. His performance is built around the ability to stay under water for an incredibly long time – next week he will be aiming for his fourth consecutive crown.
The only time he has been beaten since 2013 was in 2015, when he finished second.
Robinson-Shaw will also start favourite in the women’s squirt, which will kick off the world championships on Monday afternoon.
For more details, live scoring and streaming information, please visit our official 2023 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships page.
