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The two victories completed an exceptional World Championships for Europe. European athletes and teams won 31 of the 36 medals available across the 12 events, including nine of the 12 world titles.

Alena Marx adds a second world title

Alena Marx delivered the perfect conclusion to the championships by overcoming a high-quality final that included Olympic champion Noemie Fox, Spain’s Miren Lazkano and Germany’s Ricarda Funk.

The Swiss athlete established herself at the front of the race and secured the title ahead of Fox, while Lazkano completed the podium with bronze. Funk was classified fourth.

The victory gave Marx her second senior world title. In 2025, she made history by becoming the first Women’s Kayak Cross Individual world champion when the time-trial format was introduced as a separate medal event at the World Championships in Sydney. One year later, she added the head-to-head crown in Oklahoma City.

Marx’s rise at senior level has been particularly rapid. Her first senior European or World Championship medals came at the 2024 European Championships in Ljubljana-Tacen, where she won both the inaugural Kayak Cross Individual title and the traditional head-to-head event.

Before that breakthrough, her best international result had been bronze in Kayak Cross at the 2023 Under 23 World Championships. The Swiss athlete has also competed at two Olympic Games, beginning with Tokyo 2020 and returning at Paris 2024.

Her victory was part of a remarkable day for the Marx family. Alena’s brother, Dimitri Marx, won silver in the men’s competition after returning from a lengthy injury absence.

Prindis finally claims the title that was missing

The Men’s Kayak Cross final produced a complete European podium and another major title for one of Canoe Slalom’s most experienced athletes.

Sam Leaver made a strong start, before Dimitri Marx moved into the lead around the first upstream section. Prindis remained in contention and produced the decisive move during the second half of the race, overtaking the Swiss athlete and holding his position through to the finish.

Prindis took gold, Dimitri Marx secured silver and Leaver finished with bronze.

For the 37-year-old Czech paddler, the victory completed an outstanding international record. Prindis was the Men’s K1 world champion in 2022 and has won the overall ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup series three times, in 2017, 2021 and 2023.

He won individual European K1 titles in 2019 and 2021, adding another European gold in the former Extreme Slalom competition in 2021. In 2024, he became the first Men’s Kayak Cross Individual European champion.

The Oklahoma City victory was his first head-to-head Kayak Cross world title — the major title he described as the only one still missing from his career.

The result was also an important comeback after a neck injury disrupted his 2025 season and kept him out of the Czech national team. Prindis returned to international competition determined to reach his previous level and completed that recovery by becoming world champion at the LA28 Olympic venue.

Final Kayak Cross podiums

The men’s final was the eighth event of the championships in which European athletes occupied all three podium positions.

Czechia moves to the top of the medal table

Prindis’ victory had a major impact on the final medal table.

Before the last day, Australia led the standings with three gold medals, while Czechia had two. Prindis’ title moved Czechia level with Australia on three golds, but the Czech team took first place through its three silver medals.

Czechia completed the championships with seven medals — three gold, three silver and one bronze — the highest total of any nation.

Great Britain finished third with two golds and six medals overall. The exceptional final day for the Marx family moved Switzerland into fourth position with one gold and two silver medals.

Final medal table

Europe wins 31 of the 36 medals

Europe’s final numbers underline the continent’s extraordinary strength across Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross.

European athletes and teams won:

• Nine of the 12 world titles, representing 75 per cent of the gold medals;
• 31 of the 36 total medals, or 86.1 per cent;
• All 12 bronze medals;
• All 18 medals in the six men’s events;
• Complete podium sweeps in eight of the 12 competitions.

Twelve of the 14 countries that reached the medal table were European. Australia and the United States were the only non-European nations to win medals.

European athletes among the multiple medallists

Six European athletes completed the championships with two medals each.

Jakub Krejci won the Men’s K1 title and silver in Kayak Cross Individual, while Tereza Kneblova combined Women’s C1 gold with silver in the team competition.

Great Britain’s Adam Burgess won Men’s C1 team gold and individual silver. Slovakia’s Zuzana Pankova and Sona Stanovska both earned Women’s C1 team gold and Women’s K1 team bronze.

France’s Marjorie Delassus completed the list with silver in the Women’s K1 team event and bronze in the Women’s C1 team competition.

Australia’s Jessica Fox was the most successful individual athlete of the championships, winning three gold medals. Her sister Noemie Fox finished with two medals after adding Kayak Cross silver to her Women’s K1 team title.

A powerful European performance at the LA28 venue

The final day reinforced the message already delivered throughout the championships: Europe continues to set the standard in both Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross.

The continent won three quarters of the available titles and more than 86 per cent of the medals, while European athletes occupied every podium position in the entire men’s programme.

The results carry additional importance because the championships were held at RIVERSPORT Rapids, the venue where the Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross Olympic medals will be decided at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

With established champions such as Vit Prindis continuing to win major titles and athletes such as Alena Marx building impressive careers across the new Kayak Cross formats, Europe leaves Oklahoma City with both a dominant medal table and strong prospects for the road to LA28.