With Canoe Marathon and Dragon Boat action concluding at The World Games Chengdu 2025, here are some takeaways from two exhilarating days of competition.
Ice in their veins
It is safe to say Mads Brandt Pedersen and Melina Andersson are the king and queen of Canoe Marathon. At The World Games Chengdu 2025, they arrived as favourites and lived up to that billing in style. While Hamish Lovemore of South Africa pushed Pedersen to his limits in the kayak single short distance and long distance finals, the Dane's superhuman sprint ensured he concluded the competition with a double. Andersson, on the other hand, posted dominant wins in the women's finals to extend her streak against the legendary Vanda Kiszli of Hungary. With the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships set to take place in Gyor in September, it looks unlikely that the Nordic stars will be dethroned.
Age is just a number
At 43, Jose Ramalho is a living legend, ageing like fine wine. As the headlines focused on Pedersen and Andersson, the Portuguese proved what can be achieved with discipline and determination, no matter how old you are. Away from the spotlight, he won two bronze medals, bettering his performance at the Games from three years ago. Ramalho's form is no surprise as he got two individual medals at the Canoe Marathon European Championships in June - a bronze in the K1 short distance and silver in the K1 long distance on home waters in Ponte de Lima. There is no reason why he cannot keep adding to that incredible tally this year.
Enter the dragon
If they were not already one, Indonesia has confirmed their place among the Dragon Boat elite after Chengdu. With three titles and having stood on the podium in all but one race, the island nation's rise has been a pleasure to watch. At the ICF Dragon Boat World Cup and World Championships last year, there were signs of their talent, but at The World Games 2025, it was utter domination. Their fire and passion, despite the treacherous weather, truly showed the magic of this beautiful team sport.
Going global
While Indonesia won the maximum number of medals, Ukraine stole the show with two titles, along with bronze medals for Spain, meaning Dragon Boat is no longer Asian-dominated. With back-to-back Olympic demonstration appearances at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, the discipline was already popular around the globe. Now, the results are also looking global. There were respectable performances from Hungary and Czechia, and if the trend continues, the 2026 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships in Regina, Canada, will see more winners from across continents.
From August 13 to 16, the last and final ICF discipline - Canoe Polo - will take place at the Jianyang Cultural and Sports Center.
Copyright by IWGA/The World Games 2025.
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