UPDATE 11 September 2026
The 2026 Thames 200 Ultra is over, and another year of this epic race has given us new records for both the river and the race. Jenny Fletcher, a paddler from Richmond, attempted the race for the first time and decided to take on all 200 kilometres solo in K1. She raced DW in non-stop doubles with Ludy Hills in 2024, but after the race was cut short at Teddington for safety reasons, she was left with an itch to finish a full 200km distance. Jenny also had the feeling that the female solo Thames record could soon become as hot as the doubles record, and figured 2026 was her chance to put her name in the history books before someone faster takes it over.
Jenny completed the 200 km race in 24:40:08. Her time to the lock (before doing the final portion of the race where paddlers must turn around at the lock and paddle a few hundred more metres to finish at the YMCA Hawker) was 24 hours 33 minutes. With no other recorded time for a solo women’s K1 paddling the length of the navigable, non-tidal Thames River, Jenny’s time becomes the new unofficial record. Watch Jenny’s pre-race interview here, and post-race interview here.
UPDATE 1 March 2026
On Saturday 28 February 2026, Joe Petersen and Brynde Kreft smashed the Thames River doubles record by more than ninety minutes. From Lechlade to Teddington, they finished the full course in 14 hours and 3 minutes. Both international marathon paddlers for Team GB, and 2025 DW runners-up, the experienced crew paddled under Ha’penny Bridge at 6:26am. They selected the date based on support crew availability and the exceptionally fast flow of the Thames after significant rainfall, then waited until there was plenty of daylight to see clearly through the narrow twists and turns of the upper Thames. After a long day of mild weather and strong paddling, they reached Teddington Lock at 8:29pm, where they were greeted by friends, fans, and supporters. Joe and Brynde celebrated with bubbly and sparklers. Check out the Paddle Daily Instagram Stories Highlight to see how it played out, moment by moment.
UPDATE 7 October 2024
On Sunday 6 October 2024, Billy Butler broke the solo kayak record on the Thames. He set off at 4am to make the most of seasonally unusual fast flow on the river and daylight hours. At 8:31pm, he touched Teddington Lock. Paddle Daily followed along the whole way – check our Instagram Stories Highlight for the play by play.
Original (2024)
The length of the Thames has a few Guinness World Records associated with it, including the record that Billy Butler broke in spring 2024 with Tom Dawson: 15 hours 44 minutes. But the Guinness records are cumbersome – only some records are ‘official’ (for example, there don’t seem to be official records for ‘fastest female’ available), record-setters have to submit a huge body of video evidence including GPS and witnesses, and it’s expensive to apply. There are also certain rules about whether you can wash hang, and different records for whether you portage the locks or wait to be let through them (thereby staying on the water the entire time).
Now that we have an official race that covers the full length of the Thames, let’s start thinking about the records with a more comprehensive, fair approach:
- The official “length of the navigable non-tidal Thames” matches the Guinness World records: it starts from Ha’penny Bridge in Lechlade and finishes at Teddington Lock
- If paddlers complete the length of the Thames as Guinness sets out, this is considered a record (they don’t have to match the race distance)
- If paddlers complete the Thames 200 Ultra race, this is considered a record
- The Thames 200 Ultra race is slightly longer than the official lengthof the Thames (starts before the bridge, finishes about 600m back up from the lock)
- Race times are equally viable records since they’re actually covering more distance than the length of the Thames; However, the extra distance will not be deducted from race times to make for faster records
- Portages are allowed. Records that involve waiting out all or some of the locks can be considered elsewhere but won’t be considered here.
- Wash hanging is fair game as long as it follows the race rules and general logic (i.e., no getting rides from motorboats).
With those guidelines in mind… here’s the current Thames River Records:
| RECORD | TIME | YEAR | RECORD HOLDERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUP (men) | 29:19:50 | August 2024 | Gavin Symonds |
| Single Kayak (men) | 16:31:00 | October 2024 | Billy Butler |
| Single Kayak (women) | 24:33:00 | August 2026 | Jenny Fletcher |
| Single Canoe (men) | 25:11:25 | August 2024 | Thor Harley |
| Kayak Doubles (overall / mixed) | 14:01:00 | February 2026 | Joe Petersen & Brynde Kreft* (*Guinness Record from Ha’penny Bridge to Teddington Lock in April, slightly shorter than the race distance and in full flow) |
| Kayak Doubles (women) | 21:33:10 | April 2024 | Nadia Weigh and Kerry Lewis (Wey Kayak Club)*(*Official Guinness Record from Ha’penny Bridge to Teddington Lock in April, slightly shorter than the race distance and in full flow) |
| Canoe Doubles (men) | 25:20:12 | August 2024 | Ian Thackray, Daniel Colby |
| Relay (overall) | 15:16:43 | August 2026 | Chelmsford & Friends: James Russell, Lewis Duffield, Matt Johnson, Matt Collinge, Will Stroud, Sam Cribbett, Tim Gannicott-Porter, Cassian Payne, Peter Wilkes, Dan Palmer, James Walkinton |
| Relay (women) | 18:06:48 | August 2025 | No Buoys Allowed: Lizzie Broughton, Sam Martyn, Anoushka Freeman, Brynde Kreft, Sienna Payne, Matilda Enoch, Elise Montagna, Nerys Hall, Katie Brookes |
There’s a number of records still up for grabs (at least according to known times):
SUP (women)
Prone (men)
Prone (women)
Canoe Doubles (mixed)
Canoe Doubles (women)
James Fletcher, who had to withdraw from the 2024 Thames 200 Ultra race due to his heart condition, has also said he’ll make another attempt at the prone record at a point when water levels are higher. And Alexandra Tyrer-Lomas, who attempted the Thames 200 Ultra by SUP in 2024, has also confirmed that she’s aiming for the length of the Thames record.
There may yet be some unofficial times for those doubles records floating in the ether… If you have more information on historic fastest known times, or feedback on this approach to the records, leave a comment or email betsy@paddlermedia.co.uk.
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