Canoe Sprint World Championships 2026 run 26-30 August Poznan Malta Regatta Course; LA28 ranking points on the line

Canoe Sprint World Championships 2026: Stars in action in Poznan, full schedule and how to watch live

The 2026 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships run from 26-30 August at Poznan’s Malta Regatta Course, with LA28 ranking points on the line. Here are the names to know, the key dates and how to follow every final live.

The 2026 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships get under way on Wednesday (26 August) at the Malta Regatta Course in Poznan, Poland, and run through Sunday (30 August). Paris 2024 Olympic champion Martin Fuksa has won all five races he’s contested internationally this season , while Poland’s Anna Pulawska will look to defend two world titles on home water.

The championships mark the biggest week of the season, following World Cup stops in Szeged, Brandenburg and Montreal, as well as June’s European Championships in Montemor-o-Velho.

There’s more than a world title at stake in Poland, too.

Poznan counts towards the Olympic Ranking for Los Angeles 2028 , a key route to securing quota places for the Games. The ranking window runs until the end of 2027. Only the 10 events on the LA28 programme carry points, and those points go to National Olympic Committees rather than to individual paddlers. Nothing is sealed this week, but it does add an extra layer of excitement to the races on the water.

Stars to watch at the 2026 Canoe Sprint World Championships

Fuksa, the Paris 2024 C1 1000m Olympic champion, is unbeaten in five international races this year — the C1 double at the European Championships, then the 1000m at all three World Cups. In Poznan, the 33-year-old races three events for the first time, adding the C2 500m with his brother Petr .

Pulawska will defend the K1 500m title and, alongside Martyna Klatt , the K2 500m crown they won at last year’s World Championships in Milan. Poland also have two other strong home hopes in Alex Borucki , 20, the European K1 500m champion, and Dorota Borowska , who is seeking her first world medal since 2021 in the C1 200m.

Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan will also be among the leading contenders after winning four world titles in Milan and adding four European golds in June. Eight-time Olympic champion Lisa Carrington isn’t racing, having stopped for the season on medical advice while expecting her first child.

Canoe Sprint World Championships 2026 schedule

Five days of racing at the Malta Regatta Course, with medals decided on each of the last three. All times are local (CEST, UTC+2) and come from the preliminary timetable .

Wednesday 26 August — heats

Morning session from 08:30, afternoon from 14:00

Thursday 27 August — heats and semi-finals

Two sessions, the last race at 16:58

Friday 28 August — first finals

Finals from 15:04: K4 500m (women and men), C2 women 500m, C1 men 1000m, K1 women 1000m, C1 men 200m

Saturday 29 August — finals

Finals from 15:04: C1 women 500m, C1 men 500m, K1 women 500m, K1 men 1000m, K1 men 200m, C2 women 200m, C4 men 500m

Sunday 30 August — final day

Finals from 10:04: K1 men 500m, K1 women 200m, C1 women 200m, C2 men 500m, K2 men 500m, K2 women 500m, C4 women 500m

The four 5000m finals close the championships from 14:04

How to watch the Canoe Sprint World Championships live

Planet Canoe on YouTube — PWW broadcasts every session live and exclusively on its own channel

Start lists and live results are published on the official results platform , with session details on the Paddle Worldwide event page .