Polish U23 Canoe Sprint Championships 2026: schedule, favourites and dark horses
- Published
- 2026-08-07T07:34:52+00:00
Canoe sprint returns to Malta: the 41st Polish U23 Championships run in Poznań from 6 to 9 August 2026, with racing held across three days, 7–9 August. A field of 617 athletes from 65 clubs will contest 25 under-23 national titles — on the very course that hosts the senior world championships three weeks later.
This is the most revealing domestic test of the generation now stepping into Poland's senior squad. The entry list includes a senior European champion, four of this year's U23 world champions from Halifax and a European medallist in canoe. Below: the finals schedule, the forecast for all eleven single-boat events, and the names most likely to tear that forecast up.
Polish U23 Championships 2026 schedule — when the finals are held in Poznań
The championships span four days but race on three: 6 August is reserved for the technical meeting. Friday belongs entirely to the 200 m sprint, Saturday runs the heats and semi-finals over the longer distances, and Sunday carries the overwhelming majority of the finals.
| Day | Hours | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 7 August | 15:00–19:15 | 200 m heats and semi-finals, 7 U23 finals |
| Saturday 8 August | 08:00–19:00 | 500 m and 1000 m heats and semi-finals, mixed K4 500 m final, paracanoe finals |
| Sunday 9 August | 08:00–18:35 | 17 U23 finals, including every single boat over 500 m and 1000 m |
Friday's finals block opens at 17:55 with the women's C1 and closes at 19:15 with the women's K2. On Sunday the first final — men's K1 over 1000 m — goes off at 08:05, and the last title, men's C2 over 1000 m, is settled at 18:35. The 25th Polish Youth Championships and the 15th Polish Paracanoe Championships run alongside, with their finals concentrated on Saturday.
Polish U23 Championships 2026 favourites — the forecast for eleven single-boat events
The table below gives the forecast for all eleven K1 and C1 events contested in the U23 category. Probabilities are computed across the full start lists, for athletes over 18 with at least three rated starts.
| Event | Favourite | Club | Win chance | Podium chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 200 m men | Kacper Sieradzan | KS Wiskord Szczecin | 29% | 76% |
| C1 500 m men | Kacper Sieradzan | KS Wiskord Szczecin | 28% | 73% |
| C1 1000 m men | Kacper Sieradzan | KS Wiskord Szczecin | 42% | 90% |
| C1 200 m women | Milena Mackiewicz | CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz | 20% | 56% |
| C1 500 m women | Patrycja Szymańska | KS AZS-AWF Poznań | 22% | 62% |
| K1 200 m men | Jarosław Kajdanek | KS Energetyk Poznań | 15% | 49% |
| K1 500 m men | Norbert Midloch | KS Admira Gorzów | 9% | 32% |
| K1 1000 m men | Alex Borucki | KKW 1929 Kraków | 12% | 38% |
| K1 200 m women | Dominika Zimnoch | Dojlidy Białystok Canoe & Kajak Team | 58% | 90% |
| K1 500 m women | Zofia Więcławska | KST Włókniarz Chełmża | 16% | 51% |
| K1 1000 m women | Weronika Marczewska | UKS Kopernik Bydgoszcz | 53% | 90% |
One contrast leaps off the page. The women's events have clear leaders; the men's kayak events have none at all. Over 500 m the top pick sits at 9%, over 1000 m at 12% — six crews racing on effectively level terms.
Kacper Sieradzan chases a canoe treble in Poznań
Kacper Sieradzan of KS Wiskord Szczecin is the only athlete here favoured across all three distances of his boat class, and the reason is straightforward. On 1 July in Halifax he became U23 world champion in the C1 over 1000 m, winning the final in 4:31.31 from Czech paddler Adam Rudolf by 0.58 seconds. A year earlier, in Montemor-o-Velho, he had taken bronze over 500 m.
His domestic season reads the same way. At the 89th Polish Senior Championships in Bydgoszcz the 22-year-old won silver over 1000 m and bronze over 500 m — medals earned against men a decade older. His 3:57.22 over 1000 m is just under a second quicker than the best mark of Gracjan Michalak of KS AZS-AWF Poznań, who holds 14% and is the only credible challenger.
The shortest distance is the intriguing one. Sieradzan has no 2026 time over 200 m, and his career best of 41.99 dates from 2025. It remains the quickest mark in the field, but the stopwatch margin is thinner here than over the longer distances — which is exactly why his forecast drops to 29%, the lowest of his three events.
Alex Borucki, senior European champion, races only the 1000 m
The biggest name at these championships will not appear in his strongest event. Alex Borucki of KKW 1929 Kraków is entered in the single kayak over 1000 m only; beyond that he races the double and the crew boats.
June and July were remarkable even by the standards of this field. On 14 June in Montemor-o-Velho the 20-year-old won the senior European Championships K1 500 m final in 1:37.75, beating Josef Dostal by 0.28 seconds and Jacob Schopf by 0.37. Three weeks later in Halifax he added the U23 world title over the same distance, 1.10 seconds clear of Hungary's Adam Kaed, plus silver in the K4 500 m and the Polish senior title over 500 m.
At Malta he therefore meets a distance that is secondary for him: sixth in Halifax over 1000 m, ninth at the senior Europeans. His 3:25.74 this season, set in the World Cup B final in Szeged, is more than ten seconds faster than anything else in the domestic field — but a heat, semi-final and final compressed into one weekend rarely turns raw speed into a comfortable race. Hence 12%, the lowest figure carried by any favourite across the eleven events.
Dominika Zimnoch and Weronika Marczewska carry the strongest forecasts
The two highest probabilities of the entire regatta belong to kayakers, and both clear 50%.
Dominika Zimnoch of Dojlidy Białystok Canoe & Kajak Team sits at 58% over 200 m. In July in Szeged she took silver at the U23 European Championships, 0.80 seconds behind Ukraine's Ivanna Dyachenko, and finished fifth in the A final in Halifax. Her season best of 40.31 is 2.13 seconds quicker than the next mark in the field — over 200 m, a chasm.
Weronika Marczewska of UKS Kopernik Bydgoszcz holds 53% over 1000 m and is the most decorated athlete entered. In Halifax she won K2 500 m gold with Martyna Jaskólska, by 0.09 seconds from Germany, and took bronze in the single over 1000 m, 0.41 seconds off silver. In Bydgoszcz she won the senior national title over 1000 m plus three double-boat titles, and she raced the A final over her signature distance at the Szeged World Cup.
The 500 m, where the two meet, looks nothing alike. Zofia Więcławska of KST Włókniarz Chełmża leads on 16% — precisely level with Marczewska — while Zimnoch holds 14%. Three athletes inside two percentage points make it the tightest women's race of the weekend.
Dark horses: Kawka, Augustyniak, Kot and Jastrząb
The most compelling name in this group is Jakub Kawka of KSC Olsztyn, who turned 18 in June and is racing against opponents up to five years older. He still holds 23% over 200 m and 12% over 500 m, the second-ranked pick in both. This season he won junior world bronze in the C4 over 500 m and took the Polish Youth Olympics title in the C1 over 200 m. His 42.61 is the second-quickest time in the field.
Over 500 m in the same boat, watch Mateusz Augustyniak of KS AZS-AWF Gorzów — 11% off just thirteen rated starts. He is the least experienced athlete in the top four picks and the only one who gets there purely on this season's wins.
In the men's K1 over 1000 m the second pick, at 8%, is Mikołaj Kot of UKS Silvant Kajak Elbląg. Kot has ten national medals and not one of them is gold: three silvers, seven bronzes. Malta is where that record could finally break.
Kacper Jastrząb of UMKS Zryw Wolsztyn deserves a line of his own. Over 500 m he owns the quickest time in the whole field, 1:40.80, yet ranks only fifth on 5%, because his ten national medals include one gold and five silvers. If he finds the missing hundredths at 15:45 on Sunday, it will be the best-founded upset of the weekend.
Where the championships could turn — a men's kayak field with no favourite
The men's K1 over 500 m is the most open race of the regatta: 39 crews entered, five heats, three semi-finals and probabilities running from 9% down to 2%. Norbert Midloch of KS Admira Gorzów tops the forecast on 1:41.75. Behind him Paweł Szott of KS GPower Gorzów holds 8% and his club-mate Mateusz Kubalski 7%. A further 7% goes to Mikołaj Walulik of KS Posnania Poznań — and it is Walulik who owns the faster mark of the two, 1:41.21.
Midloch is a story in himself. The 19-year-old is entered in six events, including all three single-kayak distances, and while he is the obvious pick in none of them, he sits inside the top four in every one.
The 200 m sprint reads similarly. Jarosław Kajdanek of KS Energetyk Poznań is favourite on 15%, but his best time of 36.41 dates from 2025. The quickest mark in the field this season, 36.40, belongs to Walulik — who took senior national bronze in this event in June, with the podium separated by hundredths.
The third flashpoint is the women's C1 over 200 m. Milena Mackiewicz of CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz is favourite on 20% and has the argument to back it: in June in Montemor-o-Velho she won senior European bronze in the C2 over 200 m alongside Dorota Borowska. Her 47.00 is 2.47 seconds clear of the next time in the field. Canoe sprint over 200 m is unforgiving of favourites, though, and three athletes sit within seven percentage points: Patrycja Szymańska of KS AZS-AWF Poznań, Amelia Sołtyńska of KS Posnania Poznań and Amelia Marcinkowska. The last of those, racing for WTS Orzeł Wałcz, has clocked 50.94 this year off just eight rated starts.
Malta, three weeks before the Poznań world championships
The timing of these championships is no accident. From 26 to 30 August the same course hosts the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships — the first held in Poland in years. For part of this field, the Malta weekend is the last race before an event on identical water against the best in the world.
That applies above all to Borucki, selected for the K1 500 m; the full squad is covered in our piece on Poland's men's kayak squad for the Poznań world championships. The wider picture of August's peak — schedule, entries and favourites — sits in the guide to the 2026 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poznań.
For everyone else in the U23 ranks, Malta matters differently but no less: it is the last national championship of the category this season, and a first look at the water they will race as seniors soon enough.
Frequently asked questions
When and where are the Polish U23 Canoe Sprint Championships 2026 held?
The 41st Polish U23 Championships take place on the Malta regatta course in Poznań from 6 to 9 August 2026. Racing runs across three days, 7–9 August, with 6 August reserved for the technical meeting. The Polish Youth and Paracanoe Championships are staged at the same time.
How many national titles are awarded in Poznań?
Twenty-five U23 finals are contested: seven on Friday, one on Saturday and seventeen on Sunday. They cover single, double and four-person kayaks and canoes over 200 m, 500 m and 1000 m, together with the mixed-crew events. Youth and paracanoe titles are awarded separately.
Who is the favourite at the Polish U23 Championships 2026?
The strongest forecasts belong to Dominika Zimnoch in the K1 over 200 m (58%) and Weronika Marczewska in the K1 over 1000 m (53%). Among the men, Kacper Sieradzan is favoured in all three single-canoe distances, peaking at 42% over 1000 m.
Which U23 world champions are racing in Poznań?
Four of this year's Halifax U23 world champions are entered: Alex Borucki (K1 500 m), Kacper Sieradzan (C1 1000 m), and Weronika Marczewska with Martyna Jaskólska, who won the K2 500 m together. Borucki is also the reigning senior European champion over 500 m.
What time are the finals on Sunday 9 August?
Sunday's finals run from 08:05 to 18:35. The men's K1 over 1000 m opens the day and the men's C2 over 1000 m closes it. The women's single over 500 m is decided at 09:05, while the men's single-boat 500 m finals come in the afternoon — kayak at 15:45, canoe at 15:55.
Which event looks the closest?
The men's K1 over 500 m is the most open race, with 39 crews entered and a top probability of only 9%. The time gap between the first and sixth pick is shorter than a boat length, and the quickest season mark in the field belongs to the athlete ranked fifth.
Where can I find full results from the 41st Polish U23 Championships?
Complete start lists, heats and finals are published on the 41st Polish U23 Championships, 25th Polish Youth Championships and 15th Paracanoe Championships page, updated live throughout the regatta. The same page carries results from the Polish Youth and Paracanoe Championships running alongside.
These championships will most likely be decided in two places: at 08:15 on Sunday, when Kacper Sieradzan goes for the last leg of a canoe treble, and at a quarter to four that afternoon, when six kayakers line up over 500 m with no favourite between them. Three weeks later the same water will be timing world champions.
Sources: Polish Canoe Federation race programme, official start lists, International Canoe Federation and European Canoe Association results.