ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships is an International Canoe Federation competition in canoe marathon in which athletes compete over long distances. The race usually starts and ends at the same place, and includes portages. Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. In a kayak, the paddler is seated in the direction of travel, and uses a double-bladed paddle. In a canoe the paddler kneels on one knee with the other leg forward and foot flat on the floor inside the boat, and paddles a single-bladed paddle on one side only. The World Championships were held every two years from 1988, becoming annual in 1998.
Editions 1988: Nottingham, United Kingdom 1990: Copenhagen, Denmark 1992: Brisbane, Australia 1994: Amsterdam, Netherlands 1996: Vaxholm, Sweden 1998: Cape Town, South Africa 1999: Győr, Hungary 2000: Dartmouth, Canada 2001: Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom 2002: Zamora, Spain 2003: Valladolid, Spain 2004: Bergen, Norway 2005: Perth, Australia 2006: Tremolat, France 2007: Győr, Hungary 2008: Týn nad Vltavou, Czech Republic 2009: Gaia, Portugal 2010: Banyoles, Spain 2011: Singapore 2012: Rome, Italy 2013: Copenhagen, Denmark 2014: Oklahoma City, United States 2015: Győr, Hungary 2016: Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany 2017: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 2018: Vila Verde, Portugal 2019: Shaoxing, China 2020: Bærum, Norway (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) 2021: Pitești, Romania 2022: Ponte de Lima, Portugal 2023: Vejen, Denmark 2024: Metković, Croatia 2025: Győr, Hungary
Most successful paddlers Top five male and female paddlers with the best medal record are listed below. Boldface denotes active paddlers and the highest number of medals per type, as of the 2025 championships.
Men Rank Athlete Country Event(s) From To Gold Silver BronzeTotal 1 C-1, C-2 1998 2009 17 1 0 18 2 C-2 1998 2013 11 2 3 16 3 K-1, K-2 2003 2018 11 1 0 12 4 C-1, C-1 short race, C-2 2012 2024 10 10 6 26 5 C-1, C-2 2010 2023 9 5 3 17
Women Rank Athlete Country Event(s) From To Gold Silver BronzeTotal 1 K-1, K-2 1999 2022 20 12 0 32 2 K-1, K-1 short race, K-2 2017 2025 9 6 3 18 3 C-1, C-1 short race 2016 2025 9 2 3 14 4 K-1, K-2 1996 2007 6 2 0 8 5 K-1, K-1 short race, K-2 2022 2025 5 3 2 10
Medal table
See also International Canoe Federation ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships ICF Masters Canoe Marathon World Championships ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup ICF Canoe Marathon Masters World Cup Wildwater Canoeing World Championships
References