Preparations are continuing to ramp up for Italian paddlers as they look to rise to the occasion at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Milan.
Set to be roared on by the patriotic Italian fans, the home contingent will be determined to deliver success as the Italian city gears up for its first World Championships since 2015.
With 50 days to go to the ICF flagship competition, we have picked out a selection of Italian paddlers to watch out for.
Carlo Tacchini and Gabriele Casadei
Let’s start with two of the biggest names in Italian sprint paddling. They will be the poster boys of the World Championships having made history at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Tacchini and Casadei captured Italy’s first Olympic medal in Canoe Sprint since 1964 with men’s canoe double 500m silver. This year, the duo were crowned European champions in Racice. Away from the C2, Tacchini and Casadei are also accomplished paddlers in C1, claiming silver and bronze respectively at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poznan, and are expected to be in the mix for medals in Milan.
Samuele Burgo and Tommaso Freschi
While Tacchini and Casadei will bid for success in C2, Burgo and Freschi look set to challenge in the kayak double. The pair have made a positive start to the season, clinching a bronze at the World Cup in Poznan before securing European bronze. They finished behind Germany’s Olympic champions Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke and Czechia’s Jakub Spicar and Daniel Havel on both occasions. Burgo has previously enjoyed success with Andrea Schera as they earned silver in the men’s K2 1000m at the 2022 World Championships in Dartmouth and were crowned European champions in the same event in 2024.
Among the Italian women, Cicali will be hoping to use the energy of the home crowd to push her case for a podium place. The 32-year-old has looked in fine form this season, finishing fourth in the women’s K1 5000m at the World Cup in Szeged before securing silver in Poznan a week later. She also finished second behind the impressive Zsoka Csikos of Hungary again at the European Championships in June.
Looking through the list of Italian Paracanoe paddlers, Volpi, who featured at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, is one name that stands out. Volpi has become a regular on the men’s KL2 podium, starting this season with a bronze medal at the ICF Paracanoe World Cup in Poznan. The 26-year-old then sealed silver at the European Championships in Racice, finishing behind Great Britain’s David Phillipson, and he is expected to be in the mix for a medal in Milan. He finished fourth at the World Championships in 2024 so will be determined to go one better this year.
Another big hope for a Paracanoe medal is Pistis Shablova. The 32-year-old will arrive in Milan as a defending champion following her superb victory in the women’s VL1 in Szeged in 2024. Pistis Shablova started the season with a silver behind Japan’s Monika Seryu at the World Cup in Poznan. She also picked up a silver at last month’s European Championships after finishing between Germany’s Chinette Karina Lauridsen and Lillemor Koeper. It is set to be a tough challenge with Seryu and Lauridsen set to line up again, but home advantage might prove pivotal to Pistis Shablova’s chances of emerging victorious in Milan.
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