News

The 2026 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Championships officially got underway today in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the first medal races of the Classic competition delivering strong performances from several of Europe’s leading wildwater nations. Italy, France and Belgium emerged as the standout teams of the opening day on the Vrbas River.

The day featured the full individual Classic programme together with canoe double events and masters competition, confirming once again the depth and diversity of European wildwater canoeing.

Italy enjoyed one of the strongest performances of the day, largely thanks to Cecilia Panato, who secured two world titles.
Panato claimed gold in the Women’s Kayak Classic with a winning time of 16:32.85, finishing ahead of teammate Mathilde Rosa Serena, while Czech athlete Kristina Novosadova completed the podium.
The Italian star later added a second gold medal in Women’s Canoe Classic, once again finishing ahead of a highly competitive field. French paddler Laura Fontaine took silver, with Panato Alice earning bronze to secure another double podium for Italy.

Italy also dominated the Women’s Canoe Double Classic event, where Cecilia and Alice Panato combined to take victory in 17:55.77, ahead of Switzerland and Great Britain.

With three gold medals on the opening day, Italy immediately established itself as one of the dominant nations of the championships.

One of the biggest results of the day came in the Men’s Kayak Classic, where Belgium’s Leo Montulet delivered a breakthrough performance to take the world title in 15:34.15.

France placed two athletes on the podium through Maxence Barouh and Augustin Reboul, while Slovenia’s Simon Oven narrowly missed the medals in fourth place.

Belgium also demonstrated impressive overall depth, placing four athletes inside the top 12 of the largest field of the day, which featured more than 70 competitors.

Croatia secured the Men’s Canoe Classic world title through Emil Milihram, who produced a strong and consistent run to win in 16:59.79.

France, however, arguably showed the greatest overall depth in the category, placing Nicolas Sauteur, Theo Viens and Charles Ferrion in silver, bronze and fourth place respectively.

That dominance continued later in the Men’s Canoe Double Classic, where France completely controlled the race:

France placed three crews inside the top four and secured a remarkable one-two finish.

Germany’s Normen Weber and Ole Schwarz took bronze in the same event

The opening day once again highlighted the overwhelming European dominance in wildwater canoeing.

Across all senior podiums, European nations claimed virtually every medal available, with Italy, France, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Czechia, Great Britain and Switzerland consistently present at the top of the standings.

Banja Luka already played an important role in the 2026 European season earlier this year by hosting the 2026 Paddle Europe Wildwater Cup III on 11 April 2026, giving many athletes an earlier opportunity to race on the demanding Vrbas River course ahead of the World Championships.

The championships continue on Thursday with the Team Classic events, before attention shifts to the Sprint competition later in the week.

Looking ahead, the next major Paddle Europe wildwater event of the 2026 season will be the 2026 Paddle Europe Junior & U23 Wildwater Championships, scheduled for 12–15 August 2026 in Grandtully, Scotland (GBR). The event is expected to bring together the next generation of Europe’s leading wildwater athletes on one of the continent’s most iconic natural whitewater venues.