African Canoe Sprint Championships 2026: Guendouz races at home in Boumerdès

Published

2026-10-08T12:38:59+00:00

Author

PaddleStats

Full competition results: 2026 CAC Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe African Championships - Boumerdes

The 2026 African Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe Championships begin on Saturday 10 October at Kedara Dam near Boumerdès, Algeria. Leading the home team is Paralympic champion Brahim Guendouz, who races in Monday's KL3 200m final. Across three days, 89 athletes from 10 nations are set to contest 37 finals as Algeria hosts the African Canoe Sprint Championships for the first time.

The organisers describe the regatta as Africa's first canoe sprint competition to offer ICF ranking points that count towards qualification for Los Angeles 2028. There is therefore more at stake than continental medals. With every event going straight to a final, there are no heats and no second chances.

Schedule and entries

The 2026 CAC Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe African Championships follow a straightforward schedule: one distance each day, with finals starting at 15-minute intervals from 08:30 local time (07:30 UTC).

Egypt have entered the largest team, with 21 athletes, followed by hosts Algeria with 16 and Tunisia with 13. Senegal have 10 entries, Angola and Kenya eight each, São Tomé and Príncipe five, South Africa four, Mozambique three and Cape Verde one. The 37 finals have attracted a combined 163 boat entries.

Individual fields are small. The senior men's C1 1000m has the most entries, with eight boats, while Egypt's Salwa Ahmed is the only athlete entered in the women's KL2 200m. Junior, under-23 and senior titles will be decided separately, although many paddlers are entered in more than one age group. Algeria's Walid Tiachache has the busiest schedule: nine finals, comprising the C1 1000m and C1 200m in all three age groups, plus three C2 500m races.

Guendouz targets a title on home water

Guendouz is the leading figure in Algerian paracanoe. At the 2023 World Championships in Duisburg, he won KL3 200m bronze in 40.49, behind Australia's Dylan Littlehales and Britain's Jonathan Young. A year later, he won the event at the Paris Paralympics, becoming Africa's first Paralympic gold medallist in paracanoe. The International Paralympic Committee subsequently recognised him with the Breakthrough award at the 2025 Para Sport Awards.

He has yet to match those achievements this season. At the World Cup in Montreal, he won his semi-final in 43.30 before finishing fourth in the final in 41.12. At August's World Championships in Poznań, he placed fifth in his semi-final and second in the B final in 42.41.

He faces a much smaller field in Boumerdès. Five paddlers are entered in Monday's KL3 200m final, scheduled for 09:00 local time. Among his rivals is Senegal's experienced Edmond Sanka, born in 1985. Sanka won the B final at the 2023 World Championships in 41.09, then finished fourth at the 2024 Paracanoe World Championships in Szeged. His time of 40.54 left him just 0.14 seconds short of bronze. Guendouz finished ninth in that same final in 41.58.

Senegal's Babacar Diop and Egypt's Omar Farag and Noureldin Ramadan complete the field. Ramadan reached the semi-finals in Poznań, clocking 45.38 — more than three seconds slower than Guendouz's time in his own semi-final.

Three other paracanoe finals are scheduled for Monday. Egypt's Yassin Awad, fifth in the KL1 B final in Poznań, faces Gualter Pontes of São Tomé and Príncipe in a two-paddler KL1 race. The men's KL2 has four entries from Senegal, Angola and Kenya.

Lovemore leads the K1 1000m contenders

South Africa's Hamish Lovemore is one of the standout names in the sprint events. He is entered in just one race: Saturday's senior men's K1 1000m final at 09:45 local time. His recent international results make him the clear favourite.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Lovemore won the K1 1000m B final in 3:27.94 to finish ninth overall. He took K1 5000m silver at the 2025 World Championships in Milan in 21:13.36 and repeated that result in Poznań this August in 24:17.17. Over 1000m, he finished second at May's World Cup in Brandenburg in 3:36.04 and won the B final at the Poznań World Championships in 3:30.08.

His opponents include Algeria's Ayoub Haidra and Egypt's Hamza Ahmed, both of whom have raced at world championships. Kenya's Rishad Juma, Tunisia's Mohamed Mrabet and Cape Verde's Diogo Araujo, who placed 23rd in the K1 5000m in Poznań, are also entered. None can match Lovemore's recent international results.

Olympians, home hopes and emerging talent

Olympic experience in the canoe events

Three more Olympians feature in the canoe events.

Mozambique's Joaquim Lobo has competed at two Games. He finished third in the C2 1000m B final at Rio 2016 in 4:38.73 and reached the C1 1000m quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020. In Boumerdès, he is entered in Saturday's senior C1 1000m and Monday's C1 200m.

Angola's Manuel Antonio finished fourth in the C2 500m B final at Paris 2024 in 1:55.74. He has three races on his schedule here: C1 1000m, C2 500m and C1 200m. His teammate Domingos Pacavira, born in 2006, has already raced in a World Championship B final, having reached that stage in the C2 500m in Poznań.

Senegal's Combe Seck reached the women's C1 200m quarter-finals in Paris, recording 53.82 in her race. On Monday, she faces Algeria's Chanez Slimane, Herminia Santana of São Tomé and Príncipe, Egypt's Farah Hewidy and Mozambique's Teresa Chianane in the senior women's C1 200m final.

Saturday's senior men's C1 1000m, at 09:30 local time, has the largest field of the championships. Lobo and Antonio will line up alongside Senegal's Ibrahima Seck, Kenya's Josephat Ngali, Egypt's Mohamed Gouda, Tiachache, Tunisia's Mohamed Hmida and Admilson Sousa of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Olivier and Ferfad in the women's kayak events

South Africa's four-athlete team includes Esti Olivier, who reached the quarter-finals of both the K1 500m and K2 500m at Paris 2024. In Poznań this August, she finished seventh in the K1 500m C final in 1:59.40. She is entered in the senior K1 500m, K2 500m and K1 200m in Boumerdès.

Algeria's leading hope in the women's kayak events is Aya Ferfad, who has six finals across the under-23 and senior categories. She reached the K1 1000m semi-finals at the Poznań World Championships. Monday's senior K1 200m final, at 10:45 local time, pits her against Olivier, Tunisia's Sabiha Othmane and Egypt's Gana Nasr.

The senior men's K1 200m closes the championships on Monday at 12:15 local time. Algeria's Ryad Bentouati faces South Africa's Henry Walt, Araujo and Mrabet. Bentouati is also entered in three under-23 finals.

Egypt's large team and a new generation of paddlers

Egypt will be well represented in both sprint and paracanoe. Their crews are entered in junior, under-23 and senior finals in both kayak and canoe. Among the kayakers, Mohamed Ismail, born in 2005, is one to watch. He reached two C finals at the Poznań World Championships, finishing sixth in the K1 200m in 37.75 and ninth in the K1 500m. In Boumerdès, he is entered in the under-23 K1 1000m, K2 500m and K1 200m.

The entry list also includes several very young paddlers. Egypt's Aly Ahmed, born in 2011, is the youngest athlete entered. He will race in the junior C1 1000m, C2 500m and C1 200m. Five other competitors were born in 2010: Egypt's Mariam Arbi and Mennatallah Atwa, Kenya's Imran Zuberi, and Tunisia's Farah Naffeti and Adam Lahbib. Sanka is the oldest athlete entered, born 26 years before Aly Ahmed.

Tunisia's Mohamed Naffeti, born in 2009, already has senior World Championship experience, having raced in the K1 5000m in Poznań in August. He is entered in the junior K1 1000m, K2 500m and K1 200m here. Jacuberto Dias of São Tomé and Príncipe, born in 2008, has five finals across three age groups on his schedule. He is one of several athletes from smaller teams combining multiple events and age categories.

How to follow the championships

Results will be available on the event page, with racing beginning on Saturday at 08:30 local time. Coverage is scheduled on Planet Canoe's YouTube channel. Tuesday 13 October is reserved for team departures.

Alongside the continental titles, ICF ranking points will be at stake. The organisers present Boumerdès as the first opportunity for African sprint paddlers to earn points towards Los Angeles 2028 qualification on their own continent.

The international season continues soon afterwards. The ICF Stand Up Paddling World Championships in Sabaudia begin on 14 October, followed by the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gualeguaychú on 22 October.

Frequently asked questions

When are the 2026 African Canoe Sprint Championships?

Racing runs from Saturday 10 to Monday 12 October at Kedara Dam near Boumerdès, Algeria. Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October are reserved for arrivals, training, paracanoe classification and the opening ceremony. Each day's racing begins at 08:30 local time (07:30 UTC).

How many athletes and nations are entered?

There are 89 athletes from 10 nations: Egypt (21), Algeria (16), Tunisia (13), Senegal (10), Angola (8), Kenya (8), São Tomé and Príncipe (5), South Africa (4), Mozambique (3) and Cape Verde (1). Across the 37 finals, there are 163 boat entries.

Will there be heats?

No. All 37 events go straight to finals, with no field larger than eight boats. The 1000m races take place on Saturday, the 500m on Sunday and the 200m on Monday. The final day also includes four paracanoe finals.

Who are the athletes to watch?

Brahim Guendouz, the Paris 2024 Paralympic KL3 champion, races on home water on Monday. Hamish Lovemore is the favourite for Saturday's K1 1000m, having finished ninth at the Paris Olympics and won K1 5000m silver at the 2025 and 2026 World Championships.

When does Brahim Guendouz race?

The KL3 200m final is scheduled for Monday 12 October at 09:00 local time (08:00 UTC). His four opponents are Edmond Sanka, Babacar Diop, Omar Farag and Noureldin Ramadan.

Do the championships count towards Los Angeles 2028 qualification?

The organisers describe the regatta as Africa's first canoe sprint competition to offer ICF ranking points that count towards qualification for the 2028 Olympics.

Is Lovemore the clear favourite for the K1 1000m?

His recent results suggest so. He won the Olympic B final in Paris in 3:27.94 and finished second at the Brandenburg World Cup in May in 3:36.04. The title will nevertheless be decided in a single race, with home support behind Algeria's Ayoub Haidra.

Where can I watch and follow the results?

Coverage is scheduled on Planet Canoe's YouTube channel. Results will be available on the PaddleStats event page.

Hamish Lovemore will be the one to beat on Saturday, before attention turns to Guendouz's home appearance on Monday. Follow their finals and the other 35 races on the African Championships event page.

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