2026 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poznań — schedule, favourites, results
- Published
- 2026-08-04T19:37:22+00:00
The canoe sprint world returns to Poland. From 26 to 30 August 2026, the Malta Regatta Course in Poznań hosts the 2026 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships — the biggest title fight of the season in kayak and canoe racing. And for the first time in this Olympic cycle, every final carries double weight: world championship medals and ranking points on the qualification road to Los Angeles 2028.
When and where: Malta, 26–30 August
Poznań's Malta course is one of Europe's most decorated regatta venues, a regular ICF World Cup host — most recently in 2024 and 2025. The same water stages the 2026 ICF Paracanoe World Championships across the same five days — it is one combined championship. Both events will be streamed live on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
Hosts with titles to defend
Poland arrives at its home worlds holding serious cards. Anna Puławska and Martyna Klatt are the reigning world champions in the women's K2 500m, crowned in Milan in 2025 — where Puławska also took a historic K1 500m title, Poland's first ever at that distance. In the women's canoe, Dorota Borowska, a Posnania Poznań athlete since January 2026, has confirmed her start — a home-club regatta for the two-time Olympian.
The loudest young name is Alex Borucki. The 20-year-old from Kraków won the senior European K1 500m title in Montemor-o-Velho in June, beating Josef Dostál by 0.280 seconds. In the men's canoe, Wiktor Głazunow — the 2024 world champion over C1 5000m — leads the Polish charge, while Paris Olympians Jakub Stepun and Przemysław Korsak head the kayak crews. The Adrianna Kąkol–Dominika Putto duo, World Cup medallists in the K2 500m this season, round out the home hopes.
The favourites: the 2026 form book
The hottest name on the entry sheet comes from Prague. Martin Fuksa, Olympic C1 1000m champion in Paris and the world-record holder (3:42.38), has won seven finals already in 2026 and completed the C1 500/1000m double at the European Championships. In the kayak single, countryman Josef Dostál — Olympic K1 1000m champion and Czech Athlete of the Year — has collected five international medals this season.
The women's canoe promises a three-way clash of Olympic champions: Liudmyla Luzan (nine medals in 2026, including four European golds), Katie Vincent — Paris C1 200m champion and world-record holder — and the returning Nevin Harrison, Tokyo's gold medallist. Among the kayak men, watch Jacob Schopf, a double Olympic champion from Paris with seven medals this season, and Tokyo's K1 1000m champion Bálint Kopasz. Portugal brings the evergreen Fernando Pimenta; Brazil counts on Isaquias Queiroz, a five-time Olympic medallist who won the C1 500m at the Brandenburg World Cup in May.
One giant will be missing: Lisa Carrington is expecting her first child and is sitting out the championship season with Los Angeles 2028 in her sights.
What this series covers
Road to Poznań is our build-up series: discipline-by-discipline previews, favourite and dark-horse profiles, and a data-driven look at the Polish team — followed by daily recaps and the medal table once racing starts. The foundation is the form book: we track every athlete start by start, from the Szeged World Cup to the European Championships in Montemor-o-Velho.
The first instalment is live: Poland's men's kayak squad for Poznań — line-ups, form and the medal maths.
Federations keep naming their teams — we have also broken down Great Britain's squad.
The third squad breakdown covers Australia — six World Cup medals for Tom Green and two sets of siblings on the team sheet.
Frequently asked questions
When are the 2026 canoe sprint world championships?
From 26 to 30 August 2026 at the Malta Regatta Course in Poznań, Poland. The paracanoe world championships run at the same venue across the same dates.
Where can I watch the world championships in Poznań?
All racing streams live on the official Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
Who are the favourites in Poznań?
Martin Fuksa dominates the men's canoe form book with seven wins in 2026; Liudmyla Luzan and Katie Vincent headline the women's canoe; Josef Dostál, Jacob Schopf and Bálint Kopasz lead the kayak fields. Poland's strongest medal chances rest with world champions Anna Puławska and Martyna Klatt, and European champion Alex Borucki.
The United States have named their team as well. We break down the sprint squad — seventeen athletes and four seasons without an Olympic-class world medal — separately from the largest paracanoe delegation the country has ever sent.
The next squad breakdown covers Denmark — fourteen paddlers, a K1 5000 m world title to defend and result targets published in black and white.
Denmark was followed by Italy — twenty-one athletes, and an Olympic silver medallist now being outpaced by his own crewmate.
Hungary has named its team too: 37 athletes, the largest squad at these championships and a row of defending champions.