For a record 4th time, the “City of Rivers” Győr, Hungary will host the Canoe Marathon World Championships. From Wednesday to Sunday, the best of the best will battle for World Champion titles at the convergence of three rivers in the center of the city to roaring crowds of local fans.

The last time Győr hosted the event in 2015 offered memorable moments that shine even brighter in hindsight: Hungarian Vanda Kiszli won the U23 race, one of her first major wins that set the stage for the next ten-ish years of gold medals and only very rare defeats. Hank McGregor won the senior men’s race with a nontraditional over-stern rudder – the over-stern may not have started a new trend, but it was an impressive show of South African river skills on a course with very low water levels.

Many of the same names will return to Győr again, with more experience, wisdom, and skill after ten years. But new names have since arrived on the scene and established themselves as top contenders for World Champion titles. Melina Andersson of Sweden defeated Vanda Kiszli in a sprint finish last year and went on to win this year’s World Games by a shocking 2 minute margin. Anna Sletsjoe of Norway managed to sneak past Kiszli for the European marathon title this summer – Sletsjoe was still a junior racing in Győr in 2015. Hamish Lovemore of South Africa finished ahead of multidisciplinary paddling legend Andy Birkett at their national selection race, but will have to face Birkett again in Győr. And then of course there’s the reigning multiple world champion Mads Brandt Pedersen. Pedersen didn’t have the best time in Győr in 2015 (DNF in the U23 K1) but in 2025 is the favourite to keep the world title he’s held since 2023.

The Course: Three rivers, more water, and four “fun friendly” turns

Right in the center of Győr, three rivers converge on their way to rejoin the main Danube and filter into the Black Sea. Since 2015, river levels have increased and offer faster flow for more technical racing: paddlers have to consider not just their position relative to other racers and turn buoys, but also their position in the current.

With healthy river levels, plenty of turns, and stunning bridge-top views, the course looks well designed for spectators. Racers will paddle a sort of wishbone shape up down the Mosoni-Danube (a part of the Danube that splits through Hungary), up the Raba, and back round again, all through the center of Győr. Describing the course, Hungarian K2 champion Adrian Boros referenced “fun friendly” turns – they’ll certainly fun for the spectators, but whether they’ll be fun for all the paddlers remains to be seen.

One of the most thrilling aspects for any paddler racing in Hungary is the crowds. In the global home of paddling, where paths are lined with flags featuring Hungarian Olympic champions, the marathon world championships will be a big deal. How much of an advantage will it be for the Hungarians, who will enjoy not only local support but also more familiarity with a potentially tricky, technical course? Adrian Boros says “It’s good to race at home in Hungary… It’s always a big crowd cheering for us. I think that’s the most important” and thinks the cheering will boost the spirits of all racers, not just Hungarians. So the home advantage is “not much, but a little.”

When Paddlecast Co-Host Billy Butler arrived in Győr for the Master’s racing at the beginning of the week, he said the course was even more technical than he expected. The higher water levels have brought fast-flowing current that he thinks will keep the pace of the race high: “It looks like there’s absolutely nowhere on the course where people will be taking it easy… I think here’s going to be a lot of very high speed groups going along with people fighting for the front at all times. And I don’t see many opportunities for people to move up where the speed’s not going to be high.”

One perk for everyone with the higher water is the portages – while Billy recalls running through deep sand in 2015, racers now have the luxury of pulling right up to soft grass on firm ground. The final portage on the last lap is right by the finish, and should create plenty of drama for fans. After doing a few course recce’s, Billy thinks: “The racing will all come down to that final portage. Unless someone has broken away early, that final portage is going to be monumental.”

Senior Women’s K1: Will Kiszli take back her title on home turf, or can Andersson solidify herself as the new Marathon Queen?

Hungarian Vanda Kiszli has led women’s marathon racing for so long, with so few losses, that her second place at the 2024 World Championships in Croatia came as a bit of a shock. In a thrilling final few hundred metres of racing, Melina Andersson picked up her pace in shallow water next to the grassy bank, and took the lead against Kiszli. The finish buoys were in sight. But Kiszli couldn’t respond – she’d pushed hard to this point, and Melina had that little bit of juice left that Vanda couldn’t muster. The Swede took her first marathon World Champion title, and seems to have only gotten quicker in the last year. 

At the World Games in China a few weeks ago, Andersson and Kiszli took the lead early in the race with a pace no one else could match. On the final lap, Andersson made her move. It was a repeat of the World Championships, but much earlier in the race and with even more speed. The finish was more than decisive: nearly two minutes between the two, with a similar gap to third place which saw a closer sprint finish won by Pernille Hostrup ahead of Maria Rei.

Although Andersson has now bested Kiszli two for two, the world championships will be the first time we get to see a three-way matchup including the current European champion Anna Sletsjoe. Andersson skipped the Europeans due to illness, and Sletsjoe managed to become the second woman to beat Vanda Kiszli internationally in a long time. That race also came down to a sprint finish that looked very similar to 2024 worlds.

Based on the last few events, these world champs seem likely to produce another sprint finish, but the question is whether it will be for gold or silver? Is Melina Andersson so dominant now that she can open up clean water ahead of her competitors, especially on such a technical course? Or will the top two or three manage to hang together to the bitter end and the best sprint wins? It looks like any one of them has the speed and savvy to take gold, so this should be an excellent race to follow.

Senior Men’s K1: Pederson will aim to keep up his 3-year gold streak, but the South Africans will lead the charge to challenge him

Mads Brandt Pedersen hasn’t lost a marathon since 2022, and he surely has every intention of keeping up his winning streak. South Africans Hamish Lovemore and Andy Birkett will probably be his toughest competitors, but so will the next seven or so athletes who all stand a good chance at making the front pack or perhaps even the podium.

At the World Games, Hamish Lovemore did his best to challenge Mads, but just lost him at the finish: the final margin was ten seconds. It was another South African, Andy Birkett, who handed Mads his most recent defeats back in 2022, at the last World Games in Birmingham and at the World Champs that year. So the two South Africans are certainly good candidates to challenge Pedersen.

European champion James Russell (GBR) could be in the mix as well, along with marathon podium veteran Jose Ramalho (POR). Jeremy Candy (FRA), Nico Paufler (GER), Balint Noe (HUN), Jon Amund Vold (NOR), and Ivan Alonso (ESP) have all been in the front or first chase pack at the World Games or Europeans as well. It’s hard to separate this group out – they’re close enough in speed that their final placement could come down to a tiny mistake or a lucky break. That said, Jose Ramalho is one of the most consistent marathon paddlers in the world and to make his own luck. After double bronze for both the short and long course at the World Games, he may well be a podium contender again at World Champs.

Rest of the Racing: Best Battles

The senior K1 marathons are far from the whole story this week. Some of the other exciting battles to follow include the senior doubles and the K1 U23 marathons, and of course the canoeing and junior racing.

In the men’s K2s, the Portuguese pair of Fernando Pimenta / Jose Ramalho are the defending champions but last year’s bronze medallists will be back to challenge them. Adrian Boros / Tamas Erdelyi finished second at the Sella Descent a few weeks ago, barely a moment behind the winners. Speaking with Paddlecast, Adrian said he’s not planning anything strange to try and win against them, but will respond tactically during the race depending on how it plays out. Last year’s silver medallists, the crew of Jeremy Candy / Quentin Urban, are not racing K2 together this year, though Candy is still racing K1. Mads Pedersen has teamed up with U23 champion Philip Knudsen to form an intimidating crew, but one that hasn’t been tested yet on the world stage. Will the Danish crew have enough K2 experience to take advantage of their individually impressive speed?

In women’s K2, Hungary are the reigning World Champions and the two crews competing this year took gold and silver at the European Championships. Vanda Kiszli / Zsofia Szerafin are the favourites, somewhat because they have Vanda Kiszli in the boat. But if Panna Csepe / Panna Sinko go as well as they did at Europeans, it should be another podium for them as well. That said, Spaniards Tania Alvarez / Tania Fernandez won the Sell well ahead of Panna Csepe / Panna Sinko in a very strong performance that could bode well for their podium chances after a 4th place finish last year. And Swedes Melina Andersson / Ella Richter have to be top contenders as well with Andersson in the crew – after their 3rd place World Championship finish in 2024, Andersson told Paddlecast that she and Ella have upgraded their boat and she thinks they’ll go well together in Győr.

In the U23 men’s race, Europeans featured almost too much excitement between bumper boats, capsizes, and paddles to the face. Worlds should be just as exciting and chaotic, but Philip Knudsen seems to just keep coming out on top.

The U23 women’s race will feature some of the strongest up-and-coming names who’ve already been rising through the ranks in the senior races: Pernille Hostrup (Denmark) and Saskia Hockly (South Africa) both put down phenomenal performances at the World Games a few ago, and would have been great additions to the senior women’s race at World Champs but are only in U23 for K1. And some of the top contenders from the senior women’s K2 race should be able to show their strength in K1 as well, with Ella Richter, Zsofia Szerafin, and Panna Csepe on the startlist.

Sneaky Sprinters

Although many athletes specialise in either marathon or sprint, some dabble in both (to varying degrees of “dabble”). Several big names in sprint with strong results this season have opted to race at marathon worlds as well, though with a preference for the short course. Fernando Pimenta, a longtime multi-disciplinary marathon/sprint paddler, is certainly one of the favourites to win the short course. But Martin Nathell of Sweden, who had one of his best results ever this year when he earned a silver medal in the K1 1000m at the European Sprint Championships, is racing the short course. As is the multiple Olympic medallist himself, Hungarian Adam Varga! According to ICF records, the last time Varga raced at Marathon World Championships was as a junior in 2017. It will be really exciting to see him competing in the short course this week against this combination of marathon specialists and marathon/sprint crossover paddlers.

Zsoka Csikos has a very deep marathon background, but has had one of her best sprint seasons ever this year with multiple World Cup and World Championship medals. She raced the K2 marathon last year and won with Emese Kohalmi, but now is only racing K1 short course. The short course selection may be more complementary to sprint training, or simply a more reasonable physical choice since all of these athletes just raced at the Sprint World Championships in Milan less than two weeks ago.

Paracanoe: It’s finally OFFICIAL!

It’s not the first time that the world champs have featured Paracanoe, but it’s the first “official” Marathon Paracanoe World Championship this year! The events have been tried and tested successfully, and para events in Győr will have World Champion titles and medals. Fittingly, the start list keeps growing and is up to about 90 athletes on the start list.

Paralympic sprint champions, like the Olympic sprint champions listed above, are increasingly dabbling in marathon and Győr will feature Peter Kiss (HUN), Vladyslav Yepifanov (UKR) and Serhii Yemelianov (GEO). The highly decorated Jeannette Chippington of Great Britain will also be racing in her international marathon debut.

Race distances are 6km or 10km for paracanoe, and in addition to the standard 1 / 2 / 3 level classifications, include an “Open” division for impairments that may fall outside those boxes. Jonathan White, whose upper (and lower) limb impairment falls into the Open category, will be a top contender, and may go well in the KL2 racing too where he’s currently European champion.

Paddle Daily is reporting on the ground from Győr all week – you can stay updated via Stories on Instagram and Facebook, as well as by following on social media and subscribing to get notified for new posts on paddledaily.com. And be sure to listen to the latest episode of Paddlecast for the full event preview: