Canoe Marathon Worlds 2026: Pedersen defends K1 title, Mann and Coelho crowned in Gualeguaychú

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2026-10-25T13:13:14+00:00

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PaddleStats

Full competition results: ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships - Gualeguaychu

Mads Brandt Pedersen retained his long-distance K1 world title on Saturday at the 2026 Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gualeguaychú, Argentina, finishing the 29.8 km course 7.58 seconds ahead of South Africa's Ulvard Hart. Australia's Rebecca Mann won the senior women's K1 by 13.03 seconds, and Portugal's Ricardo Coelho took the men's C1 title. Poland's Mateusz Borgiel, the reigning European champion, won bronze in that race.

Saturday 24 October was devoted to long-distance racing, with five finals on the Gualeguaychú River: junior women’s K2, senior women’s K1, junior men’s K1, senior men’s C1 and, in the afternoon, senior men’s K1. A total of 112 boats started across the five races. The results of all five finals were confirmed as official. Pedersen was the only defending champion from Győr 2025 to retain his title on the day.

Hungary lead the medal table as three nations reach three golds

The top five in the medal table after 19 junior, under-23 and senior finals from Thursday to Saturday are listed below. The standings include six short-race finals and exclude paracanoe events.

Hungary added four medals on Saturday, though none was gold: silver and bronze in the junior women's K2, silver in the C1 and bronze in the junior men's K1. Denmark had the best day, with two golds and two bronzes, and moved level with Hungary and Portugal on three titles. Paddlers from eight nations reached the podium on Saturday: Denmark, Hungary, South Africa, Australia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Poland. Portugal's three golds all came in canoe: Gabriel Fernandes won the junior C1 and the junior C2, and Coelho added the senior C1 on Saturday.

South Africa took two silvers on Saturday through Hart and junior Keegan Vogt. Both of Great Britain’s golds came through Dianora De Bilio, who won both the short race and the long-distance junior women’s K1 on Friday. Spain, Italy, Sweden, Slovakia, Australia and the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) each have one gold.

Senior K1: Pedersen retains his title, Mann takes gold

Pedersen beats Hart as Knudsen wins the battle for bronze

The senior men's K1 started at 15:00 local time with 30 paddlers from 20 nations. They raced over the longest distance on the championship programme: eight laps of 3.6 km, one short lap of 1 km and seven portages, where paddlers get out and run along a stretch of bank carrying their boats before returning to the water.

Pedersen finished in 2:03:35.59. Hart crossed the line 7.58 seconds later. The gap behind them was much bigger: Philip Knudsen of Denmark took bronze 1:34.19 behind his teammate, after a close battle for the final podium place. Argentina's Pedro Ratto finished 0.90 seconds behind Knudsen, and Spain's Miguel Llorens was another 2.21 seconds back in fifth. Briton James Russell, Spaniard Adrián Prada and Norwegian Amund Vold finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, with just 4.14 seconds separating them.

Pedersen, born in 1996, arrived in Argentina with several major successes already this season. In June he won both the short-race and long-distance K1 titles at the European Marathon Championships in Pitești, winning the latter in 2:07:15.95. He has also enjoyed success in canoe sprint, taking K1 5000 m gold at the 2025 World Championships and bronze over the same distance in Poznań this summer. In Győr last year he won the marathon title in 1:58:42.14.

On Friday Pedersen was second in the short-race final, 2.54 seconds behind Hamish Lovemore of South Africa. The long-distance race brought a different result: Lovemore finished ninth, 5:20.74 behind the winner. Argentina's Franco Balboa, fourth in Friday's short-race, was disqualified on Saturday.

Of the 30 starters, 24 were classified: 21 completed the full distance and three lapped paddlers were placed behind them. In addition to Balboa’s disqualification, five paddlers did not finish, including Poland’s Igor Wyszkowski.

Mann takes the title, defending champion Andersson fourth

Melina Andersson of Sweden started the senior women’s K1 as the defending champion, having also won Friday’s short-race final by 10.90 seconds ahead of Spain’s Miriam Vega. Over 26.2 km on Saturday she finished fourth, 1:07.65 behind the winner.

Rebecca Mann took gold in 2:00:40.41, 13.03 seconds ahead of Kateřina Milová of the Czech Republic. Denmark's Pernille Hostrup took bronze, 29.35 seconds behind Mann. The Australian had finished fourth in Friday’s short-race final, missing a medal by just 0.54 seconds, after winning Thursday’s second heat in 13:11.38.

The race had 23 starters: 22 from 15 nations and one neutral athlete. Spain's Tania Álvarez finished fifth, ahead of Elena Mironchenko, competing as a neutral athlete (AIN), and Norway's Anna Sletsjøe. Hungary's Panna Csépe, the European short-race silver medallist, was eighth.

Tenth place went to Bridgitte Hartley of South Africa, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist in the K1 500 m. Five days earlier, she had won the masters women’s K1 40–44 race on the same river. On Saturday she finished 3:48.79 behind Mann and 2.62 seconds behind ninth-placed Eva Barrios of Spain. Three paddlers were lapped, among them Chile's Goviana Reyes, the winner of the masters women’s K1 35–39 race.

Coelho wins the C1, Borgiel takes bronze

The senior men's C1 covered 22.6 km: six laps, one short lap and five portages. Thirteen canoeists started and ten finished. Coelho won in 1:45:10.54. Hungary's Mihály Pluzsik was second, 5.95 seconds behind, and Borgiel took bronze 42.16 seconds behind the winner.

Coelho turned the tables on Borgiel after June’s European Championships in Pitești, where the Pole won the long-distance C1 in 1:47:53.33 and the Portuguese paddler finished third. Borgiel also took C2 gold there, with Coelho winning silver. On Friday the Portuguese canoeist had already finished second in the short-race final, 16.99 seconds behind Spain's Jaime Duro. Borgiel was fourth in that race.

For Pluzsik, it was a second medal in as many days. On Friday he took the under-23 C1 title over 19 km in 1:29:52.51, 15.49 seconds ahead of Portugal's Leonardo Barbosa; the following day, he added senior silver. Spain's Manuel Campos finished fourth, 8.46 seconds behind Borgiel, and his teammate Manuel Garrido was fifth.

The defending champion, Poland's Mateusz Zuchora, did not finish. A year ago in Győr he won the title in 1:43:20.20. Canada's Bret Himmelman and Portugal's Rui Lacerda also failed to finish. Lacerda is entered with Coelho in Sunday's senior C2.

Junior titles for Candela and Denmark’s women’s K2

Candela gets the better of Vogt over the long distance

The junior men's K1 had the biggest field of the day, with 33 starters: 32 from 21 nations and one neutral athlete. They raced 22.6 km. Italy's Leonardo Candela won in 1:35:44.07, 3.51 seconds ahead of Vogt. Hungary's Kevin Budai took bronze 17.24 seconds behind the winner.

It was Candela’s turn to beat Vogt after Friday’s short race. Vogt won that final in 11:38.28, while Candela was fourth, 18.22 seconds behind. The Italian had won the first short-race heat on Thursday. Spain's Favila Velasco was fourth on Saturday, and Denmark's Rasmus Klitte was fifth.

Ireland's Sean Butterly, the 2025 junior world champion, finished seventh, 2:11.91 behind Candela.

Denmark win the junior women's K2 by 0.99 seconds

The day opened at 8:30 with the junior women's K2 over 19 km. It produced the closest finish of the day. Denmark's Karen Andersen and Frida Hinge won in 1:27:20.72. Hungary's Lotti Jambor and Panka Zatykó were second, 0.99 seconds behind. A second Hungarian crew, Lili Lengyel and Eszter Fölsz, took bronze 1.88 seconds behind the winners.

It was Andersen’s first gold of the championships after two silvers. On Friday, she had twice finished runner-up to De Bilio, by 2.50 seconds in the short race and 2.52 seconds over 19 km in the K1. Jambor won bronze in that short-race final. South Africans Bella Stallard and Sydney Williams were fourth, 22.27 seconds behind the Danish crew. Twelve of the 13 crews finished.

What's next: four doubles races close the championships

The championships conclude on Sunday 25 October. The programme lists the senior women's K2 at 10:05 local time (14:05 CET), the senior men's C2 at 10:10, the junior men's K2 at 12:30 and the senior men's K2 at 15:15 (19:15 CET).

Several of Friday’s and Saturday’s medallists return for the doubles races. In the senior men's K2 Pedersen races with Knudsen. The second Danish crew pairs Valdemar Jørgensen, Friday's under-23 K1 world champion, with Jonathan Hansen. The same race includes Friday's short-race bronze medallist Fernando Pimenta with his compatriot José Ramalho. Hart races with Clinton Cook, who won the masters men’s K1 35–39 race on the same river on 19 October. Vold is paired with Ivar Buch, the under-23 K1 silver medallist from Friday, and Ratto races with Juan Cáceres for the hosts.

In the senior C2 Borgiel races with Zuchora and Coelho with Lacerda, while Duro and Garrido form one of the Spanish crews. In the women's K2, Saturday's bronze medallist Hostrup pairs with Agnete Nielsen, and Argentina's María Garro, Friday's short-race bronze medallist, races with Micaela Maslein.

Thursday's results are in our day two recap, the paracanoe races in the paracanoe day recap and the masters races in the masters championships recap. Full results are on the event page.

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 2026 canoe marathon world titles on 24 October?

Mads Brandt Pedersen (Denmark) won the senior men's K1, Rebecca Mann (Australia) the senior women's K1, Ricardo Coelho (Portugal) the senior men's C1, Leonardo Candela (Italy) the junior men's K1, and Karen Andersen and Frida Hinge (Denmark) the junior women's K2.

How long is the senior men's K1 in Gualeguaychú?

29.8 km: eight laps of 3.6 km, one short lap of 1 km and seven portages. The senior women's K1 is 26.2 km with six portages. The senior men's C1 and the junior men's K1 are 22.6 km.

Which reigning world champions defended their titles on Saturday?

Only Pedersen. Melina Andersson finished fourth in the women's K1, Sean Butterly seventh in the junior men's K1, and Mateusz Zuchora did not finish the C1. In the junior women's K2 the title passed from Hungary to Denmark, with two Hungarian crews on the podium.

Did Friday’s short-race winners also win on Saturday?

No. Hamish Lovemore, Friday's short-race champion, was ninth over 29.8 km. Melina Andersson was fourth, and Keegan Vogt took junior K1 silver, 3.51 seconds behind Candela. Jaime Duro, the C1 short-race winner, was not in Saturday's C1 field.

How did the Polish paddlers do?

Mateusz Borgiel won bronze in the senior C1, 42.16 seconds behind Coelho. Mateusz Zuchora, the 2025 champion, did not finish that race, and Igor Wyszkowski did not finish the senior K1.

Can Pedersen win a second gold on Sunday?

Yes. He is entered in the senior men’s K2 with Philip Knudsen, Saturday's K1 bronze medallist. Their rivals include the second Danish crew, featuring Valdemar Jørgensen, Portugal's Fernando Pimenta and José Ramalho, and Hart with Clinton Cook.

Will Hungary stay on top of the medal table?

Hungary and Denmark are level on golds, with Hungary ahead by one silver. Hungary have seven crews entered across all four Sunday races. Denmark have three crews in two events, while Portugal have one in each of the four races.

When are Sunday's finals?

The senior women's K2 starts at 10:05 local time (14:05 CET), the senior men's C2 at 10:10, the junior men's K2 at 12:30 and the senior men's K2 at 15:15 (19:15 CET).

Mads Brandt Pedersen has added another long-distance K1 world title to the European crown he won in Pitești earlier this season. Ulvard Hart, 7.58 seconds behind him on Saturday, races the senior men's K2 on Sunday, when the doubles finals close the 2026 Canoe Marathon World Championships.

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