Hungary’s Kolos Attila Csizmadia hailed his five-month-old son for helping to recover from a “really dark place” to reach the top of the podium at the 2025 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan, Italy.
Csizmadia was among the winners of the non-Olympic events in the Italian city after powering to the men’s kayak single 200m crown.
Last year, Csizmadia suffered the devastation of leaving the Olympic Games in Paris without a medal after Hungary’s men’s kayak four finished in seventh place.
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But Csizmadia said the birth of his son, Kadosa, earlier this year gave him newfound belief and motivation to come back stronger in Milan.
“I am really happy with this result,” said Csizmadia.
“I am able to win here, and I bring home the gold medal to my little son, who is only five months old. This is really important.
“After the Olympic Games, I was in a really dark place.
“When my child was born, I had a new motivation and a better motivation than before.
“I just did my best, I looked left in the last metre and I couldn’t believe that I won.”
It was Hungary’s second gold medal of the day after Zsofa Csikos staged a sensational comeback to capture the women’s K1 1000m title.
Australia’s Alyssa Buck held a healthy lead only to be overhauled by Csikos, who found an extra couple of gears in the final 250m.
Csikos triumphed in 3:50.46 as Buck crossed in 3:51.53 for silver, and New Zealand’s Aimee Fisher bagged bronze in 3:54.11.
The victory adds to a phenomenal season for Csikos, who won three gold medals at the Canoe Sprint European Championships in June.
“I was confident, but I wanted to win here as it is the most important event of the year,” said Csikos.
“I was pulled back by seaweed, but I was really confident I could make it.”
Uzbekistan’s Artur Guliev bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on a medal at his home World Championships in Samarkand last year to win the men’s canoe single 200m gold in Milan.
Guliev failed to defend the title he won in 2023, but ensured there was to be no repeat of his performance in 2024 as he sealed victory in 38.63.
He won by 0.03 as Spain’s Pablo Grana had to settle for silver for the second year in a row, while Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Sergey Svinarev bagged bronze in 38.82.
“I’m very happy as I’ve been preparing for six months for these World Championships,” said Guliev.
“I am much happier than Samarkand last year when I had a bad result, only finishing fourth.
“Now I am champion again.”
After falling behind, Fuksa desperately tried to close the gap, only for Petrov to hold his form to win in 1:46.27.
Fuksa, the Olympic champion in the men’s C1 1000m, claimed silver in 1:46.71 as Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi bagged bronze in 1:47.38.
“I’m very happy with this victory,” said Petrov.
“Fuksa is a very tough guy and is very popular.
“He is one of the leaders in the sport and an Olympic champion, so it’s an honour to race against him and beat him in this race.”
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