Sprint stars, Metkovic magic and stunning settings: A 2024 review of Canoe Marathon, SUP, Canoe Ocean Racing and Dragon Boat

It has been a year like no other for the International Canoe Federation with significant achievements and milestones on and off the water. In the second of our reviews of the season, we look at all the successes and memorable stories in Canoe Marathon, Stand Up Paddling, Canoe Ocean Racing and Dragon Boat. When Melina Andersson looked down in horror at the damage sustained to her trusty paddle on the morning of her race, she could have crumbled but the Swede responded in sensational style . Using a spare, Andersson captured two golds at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic, Croatia, winning women’s kayak single short distance before breaking Hungarian great Vanda Kiszli ’s stranglehold on the women’s K1 long distance crown with an amazing comeback. Mads Brandt Pedersen was another marathon star of 2024 as he completed a memorable K1 double. The Dane clinched the men’s K1 short distance title for the first time before triumphing over long distance. After shining in Metkovic where they also earned quotas for their respective nations for the Chengdu 2025 World Games, Andersson and Pedersen then sealed more golds at the ICF Hangzhou Super Cup. There was also an ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup staged in Brandenburg, Germany where a mixed relay featured for the first time. For 23 absorbing seconds, SUP fans watched history being made in Sarasota, Florida. The men’s 100m final was gripping from start to finish with Bulgaria’s Andrii Kraitor emerging victorious . For the first time in the history of the ICF SUP World Championships, paddlers competed over 100m instead of 200m – and it provided some exhilarating finishes. There was also home joy as American ace Katniss Paris clinched the women’s 100m title in Sarasota in a time of 28.32. Another memorable moment was the victory of Noic Garioud who had experienced the delight of becoming a dad for the first time earlier this year. The Frenchman bounced back from the disappointment of failing to defend the...

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