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The competition will bring together 642 athletes from 54 countries, confirming once again the global strength of canoe sprint at junior and under-23 level. Europe will play a leading role in the event, with 28 European delegations represented and a total of 387 European athletes on the start list — more than 60% of all competitors.

Hungary arrives in Halifax with the largest European team and the biggest delegation overall, with 52 athletes. Poland also brings a major team with 42 athletes, followed by Germany with 39, Spain with 37, Italy with 29, and AIN with 21. Czechia will also be strongly represented with 19 athletes, while France and Denmark both enter with 14 athletes.

These numbers confirm the depth of European canoe sprint at development level, with the continent once again providing the majority of the field and many of the strongest contenders across kayak and canoe events.

The European challenge will face strong opposition from outside the continent. China enters the Championships with 45 athletes, Japan with 43, host nation Canada with 40, Australia with 28, the United States with 15, and New Zealand with 14. These nations are expected to be among the main challengers to the European teams, especially in several junior and under-23 finals.

Europe travels to Canada after a dominant performance at the 2025 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships, held in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal. The event, staged on European waters, underlined the strength and depth of the continent’s canoe sprint development system, with European athletes setting the standard across almost every section of the programme.

Across the 2025 competition, European athletes won 110 of the 132 podium places and 35 of the 45 gold medals awarded, confirming Europe’s leading position in junior and under-23 canoe sprint. European delegations were present on the podium in almost every event, from individual kayak and canoe races to crew boats and mixed relays.

Hungary led the way in Montemor-o-Velho with 21 medals, including eight world titles, and will again be one of the main countries to watch in Halifax. AIN athletes also had a major impact in 2025, winning 19 medals and seven golds, while Italy delivered one of the strongest campaigns of the Championships with 13 medals and six world titles.

Germany also showed impressive consistency with 11 medals, while Spain collected 12 podium finishes and confirmed its strength across several canoe and kayak events. Czechia finished with eight medals, Ukraine with seven, and Portugal, competing at home in 2025, celebrated five medals, including the world title in the K2 Under 23 Men 500m with Gustavo Gonçalves and Pedro Casinha.

The 2025 edition also highlighted the spread of European success. Slovakia won world titles in women’s kayak crew events, Serbia was strong in the 200m kayak races, Poland claimed gold in the C4 Junior Men 500m, and Ukraine won the C4 Under 23 Men 500m. This balance between traditional powerhouses and emerging medal-winning teams is one of the main reasons Europe arrives in Halifax with such strong expectations.

Several 2025 world champions are back on the start list for 2026. Among the European names returning to international competition are Hungary’s Hanna Hollo, Peter Samu, Zalan Hidvegi, Gergo Keller, David Barna and Zoltan Mircse, Slovakia’s Reka Bugar, Hana Gavorova, Sofia Bergendi and Bianka Sidova, Serbia’s Ognjen Kramer and Strahinja Dragosavljevic, Italy’s Sofia Zucca and Leonardo Candela, Poland’s Oskar Dekowski, Kacper Stanek and Mateusz Augustyniak, and Ukraine’s Yaroslav Verbliud and Vitalii Prystai.

Host nation Canada will also be a major force, especially after winning four world titles in 2025. Names such as Isabel Lowry, Amelie Laliberte and Toshka Besharah return with the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd, adding extra emotion and expectation to the Championships.

With deep teams, returning champions and strong medal traditions, Europe arrives in Halifax with clear ambitions: to defend its leading position in junior and under-23 canoe sprint and to confirm the strength of the continent’s next generation on the world stage.

From individual sprints to crew boats and mixed events, the 2026 Championships promise five days of high-level racing. With more than 60% of the athletes coming from Europe and several reigning world champions returning to competition, the continent is once again expected to be at the heart of the fight for the world titles in Halifax.

Provisional startlists available here.