POZNAŃ, POLAND (August 31, 2026) – Canada closed out the 2026 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships on Lake Malta with five medals, headlined by Sophia Jensen’s first senior World Championship gold. The five-day competition, held August 26–30, brought together the world’s top flatwater paddlers in Olympic, Paralympic disciplines, serving as a key benchmark on the road to the LA 2028 Games. Team Canada also dominated the podium with 2 more gold medals in the Intellectual Impairment category in Poznań.
Sophia Jensen delivered the standout Canadian performance of the Championships, winning gold in the women’s C1 500m on Saturday, August 29 – her first senior World Championship title. Jensen backed up the result a day later with a silver medal in the C1 200m, closing out her Poznań campaign with two impressive individual podiums.
“It’s an incredible feeling and I think it was a practically perfect race. I executed my plan to the letter, even though conditions were terrible. It’s a race and a result that make me very proud. I always find it inspiring to be on the podium with athletes I admire, and that was the case this weekend,” Jensen told SportCom.
Two-time Paralympian Brianna Hennessy added to Canada’s paracanoe medal count with a bronze in the KL2 200m on Saturday, August 29, followed by a silver in the VL2 200m on Sunday, August 30.
“Saturday was one of those days when the wind picks up, and the water turns unpredictable, and our impairments are put on display. It was survival mode out there, and I’m proud of each and every one of us pushing through the chaos in that final,” said Hennessy.
Canada’s women’s C4 crew of Zoe Wojtyk, Katie Vincent, Sloan Mackenzie and Elizabeth Desrosiers-McArthur won bronze in the C4 500m.
“We wanted to keep our momentum going from the World Cup in Montreal,” shared Desrosiers-McArthur. “The result was the same, except that in Montreal there were fewer teams. This time it was pretty intense, and there was more pressure.”
Kevin Tobin and Payton Dicks claimed gold for Canada in the Intellectual Impairment category, topping the podium in the Unified 200m with Olympic partners, Nikita Ciudin and Toshka Besharah. Payton also won gold in the II K1 Para Women SO 200m, while Kevin added another gold and silver to his collection in the II K1 & KT Para Men SO 200m.
Other notable results
- Erica Scarff – 5th, VL3 200m
- Alix Plomteux – 6th, C1 500m
- Michelle Russell – 8th, K1 500m
- Katie Vincent and Sloan Mackenzie – 8th, C2 500m
- Connor Fitzpatrick – 10th, C1 1000m
Full Results
2026 ICF Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships – Poznań, Poland