Australian Sprint Kayak and Paracanoe team top medal tally at world championships

The Australian Sprint Kayak and Paracanoe team have topped the medal tally at the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships – making it the most successful World Championships campaign by the Australian team to date, with four gold, three silver and one bronze medal.

Not only was the Australians campaign highlighted by the medal haul, but also five women’s, six men’s and four paracanoe quotas achieved for next years’ Paris Games.

Yale Steinepreis showed nerves of steel in the women’s K1 200 final, winning silver in a fast and furious race.

Dual Paralympian Curtis McGrath added another medal to his World Championships haul, picking up bronze in the men’s VL3 200 final.

McGrath backed up from his gold medal in the kayak, to finish third, and also earn another Paralympic quota for the Australian team.

Aly Bull and Jackson Collins stood on the Mixed K2 500 podium for a second year in a row, winning silver in the final event for the Australian team.

Paddle Australia National High Performance Director Kim Crane said she was extremely proud of the whole Australian team for their efforts and performances in Duisburg this week.

Crane shared “we’re naturally wired to look at the medal tally and performances after a critical benchmark event. Our achievements here have been outstanding; and it’s fantastic to celebrate that.

“However, what I reflect on the most with great pride, is the courage it’s taken for this team to be here competing in the arena. When you understand the work behind the strategy, the critical conversations, the big decisions, the commitment, the relentless hours of work, the growth in our people as a whole and the individual personal challenges that have been overcome by our athletes, coaches, and support staff; then our results here mean so much to us as a group and as a National High Performance Program.

“The standard of racing here on the world stage is absolutely cut throat. We must continue to strive for excellence in everything we do, as we’re now talking about tenths of a second between placings!

“With the majority of our Olympic and Paralympic quota spots achieved here in Duisburg, we can now focus on the next phase of our preparation. A campaign of this scale cannot be done without the support of our Australian High Performance System National Network partners, so we thank them and hope they too are proud of their impact.

“The first step of that is World Cup 3 next week, which is a great opportunity for our athletes and staff to immediately shift their thoughts to what the Paris Olympic & Paralympic environment is going to look and feel like.”

The Australian Sprint Kayak and Paracanoe team will now head to Paris for the final event of the international season, World Cup 3. The event will double as a test event for next years’ Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For the full schedule and results