The Marathon 2026 Selection Policy is now published for consultation. Members of the marathon community have until the end of Sunday 22nd February to feedback any comments to the marathon selection committee for review. Please send any comments directly to the selection committee chair via email: [email protected].
The full published draft policy can be found on our selection webpage here.
For many years, the Marathon Racing Committee has supported the International Canoe Federation by helping members qualify as International Technical Officials (ITO) and volunteer at World and European Championships. In the last two years two new members of PaddleUK and the marathon community have qualified as ITO’s.
One of the newly qualified ITO’s, Mags Dilai (Nottingham Kayak Club), has agreed to share her experiences of qualifying and working as an ITO at marathon international races this year.
An ITO is an international technical official. In Canoe Marathon this means being positioned around the course to watch for any infractions that need reporting back to the Chief Official, and to keep track of where all paddlers are in relation to laps and position in the race. ITO’s also register paddlers on and off the water and may serve as starters, finishers or in boat weighing.
Firstly, you must first be nominated to the ICF by your national governing body (PaddleUK and the MRC). I was approached by the Marathon Racing Committee and, although I was unsure at first because I didn’t know exactly what was involved, it quickly appealed to me. I’m a bit of a paddling geek, I attend international events to watch, and I enjoy being helpful, so the role felt like a perfect fit.
To become an ITO, you have to pass 2 written exams/multiple choice exams: one on ICF statutes, and one on discipline specific rules. The exams are timed and open book but there is very little time to flick through anything so you do need to know your stuff on the rules and learn a bit about the ICF and how it operates. The more fun side of ITO assessment is the practical part. You get to work alongside established ITOs at a world championships. Each person you work with reports back to inform the decision on whether you pass to be an ITO or not. I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to work as an ITO in the first year I qualified but it’s not always the case. You normally have to give your availability via your governing body and then the ICF select a team for each event.
This year I covered a turn for two days and then portage judging on another day. At the portage, I was in charge of waving the yellow flag to signal a penalty and directing paddlers to the penalty box. It’s not the most popular job because you have tired, confused paddlers and at that moment they definitely don’t like you!
The turn I was on was hectic because it was under a kilometre from the start, on a concrete bank where often large groups were turning in flowing water!
I really like being a course umpire. That usually means being on the water in a boat, keeping an eye on a turn or a part of the course that could get interesting. It’s really exciting to see the races unfold and it’s non stop counting boats and keeping track of numbers, so you don’t get bored!!
I would say prepare for long days out in all elements, far from toilets and food! Take everything with you. It’s definitely not a holiday; it’s hard work but it is also a great experience. Being an ITO gives you a unique view of competition and the volunteer effort that makes the live race we see on the live streams possible.
I’ve met people from all over the world who share the same passion for paddling (maybe not as geeky in their marathon paddling knowledge as me though)! I’ve got invitations to go and visit fellow ITOs from across the globe and paddle their local waters, although I feel bad that the exchange for them is Nottingham!
Thank you Mags for sharing your experiences. If you are interested in becoming an ITO or even intrigued enough to have a conversation about it, please contact the Marathon Racing Committee via the Secretary.
British development juniors returned from Vernon last week with several podiums and valuable lessons. Racing on the fast, busy River Seine forced them to adapt due to strong currents, large river traffic and tricky portages. The whole experience sharpened their racing, boosted confidence and created valuable lessons for them to take into a winter of training at their local clubs.
The 2025 French National Canoe Marathon Championships were held on the wide, fast-flowing River Seine in Vernon, where heavy river traffic and a noticeable downstream current challenged the juniors. Athletes quickly learned that the usual pontoon side was difficult to launch from and that using the opposite side or running to the end of the pontoon often produced better, faster exits at portages.
Saturday began with the K2 races. In the U14 girls’ K2, Ruth Shephard (Reading Canoe Club) and Ariana Manley (Wey Kayak Club) produced a strong start, then settled into a comfortable lead that they maintained to take the win. Finn Meredith (Elmbridge Canoe Club) and Edward Stroud (Wey Kayak Club) faced a highly competitive U14 K2 field and finished fourth. In the U16 K2 races Imogen Field (Elmbridge Canoe Club) and Kyla Holt (Richmond Canoe Club) made an excellent start and led to victory. Johanna Milbrandt (Cambridge Canoe Club) and Jocelyn Allan (Wey Kayak Club) started slightly slower due to the mixed, busy start line causing a lot of wash but paddled strongly through the field to claim second. In the longer and high-competitive U16 22 km K2, Marcell Nagy (Reading Canoe Club) and Henry Pitt (Royal Canoe Club) took third while Ben Eskriett (Gailey Canoe Club) and Owen Attwood (Wey Kayak Club) finished fourth.
Sunday’s programme featured the K1 races. In the U14 girls’ K1, Ruth S began alongside a French paddler but used clean portages to drop her rival on the second lap and paddled the remainder of the course alone to win. Ariana M moved through the field throughout the race and finish eighth. Finn M and Edward S produced solid U14 K1 performances, finishing tenth and eleventh respectively.
The U16 K1 races produced close racing. In the girls’ event a French paddler eventually broke away; Imogen F worked to distance herself from team-mate Kyla H and secured second with Kyla third. Johanna M, competing in her first international K1, put in a confident performance to finish ninth, while Jocelyn A finished twelfth. The U16 boys’ K1 saw Henry P finish sixth and Owen A tenth. Marcell N was in the leading group early but took a wrong turn and attempted a portage a lap too early, costing time and leaving him thirteenth, with Ben E fourteenth.
The course and racing provided significant challenges and opportunities for learning for the whole team. Clean and calm portages proved decisive across the weekend. We hope that the whole team has been enthused by the trip to motivate them into another winter of training.
Thank you to our volunteer staff team that supported the trip and guided the juniors throughout the racing and off the water: Suzanne de Bruijin, Charlie Smith, Brian Greenham, and Zach Benstead.
The Masters team once again fielded strength with entries in many of the categories at the 2025 edition of the Canoe Marathon World Championships. Twenty seven paddlers took to the water to chase their goals and wherever possible bring home medals. Although the level of competition is clearly rising year on year, we were pleased to see our Masters deliver two golds and two silvers.
We applaud Brian Greenham (Reading Canoe Club) adding to his collection of golds in the over 75 men K1 and Gilbert Speirs (Linlithgow Kayak Club) topping his over 70 men K1 class to clinch the triple of National, European and World Championships titles!
Melvin Swallow (Chester Canoe Club) delivered a strong silver in over 70 men K1 and Sarah Swallow (Chester Canoe Club) teamed up with him in over 65 Mixed K2 for a 6th place.
Jane Millar (Nottingham Kayak Club) added a silver to her collection in over 65 women K2 (with Mary Parry formerly of Maidstone Canoe Club and now paddling for Spain) during a busy two days competing in K1, K2 and over 65 mixed K2 (with Bryn Price from Maidstone Canoe Club). In other mixed K2 races, Emma Watts (Wey Kayak Club) and Gina Moullec (Gloucester Canoe Club) fitted in similar multi race agendas, paddling with Robbie Molnar (Maidstone Canoe Club) and Billy Butler (Falcon Canoe Club) respectively.
Stan Missen and John Escott (both Bradford on Avon Canoe Club) had a tight race in over 65 men K2 missing bronze by a fraction of a second but beating the next boat by a similar margin. Matt Enoch (Nottingham Kayak Club) also scored a 4th in over 45 men K1 and again with Jason Graham (Shrewsbury Canoe Club) in over 45 men K2. While Dave Flynn (Exeter Canoe Club) secured a 5th (out of 22) in over 70 men K1. There were an unusual number of DNFs in many races, which probably reflected the choppy course and the commitment by all.
The interesting course incorporated natural islands and sharp turns – many preferred its layout to the out and back nature of so many. Billy Butler (Falcon Canoe Club) and Jon O’Grady (Runcorn Canoe Club) agreed with a top Hungarian paddler from Gyor, saying the course is a particularly choppy challenge – apparently known for that amongst the Hungarians.
Well done all and our thanks to Bryn Price for co-ordinating and leading the Masters element of the team.
Thank you to Gina Moullec for creating this report and highlighting the competitive nature of the Masters international competition. If you are interested in getting involved, the Masters team welcomes all abilities and experience levels so please contact Bryn Price and visit our Masters Racing information webpage here.
Great Britain capped the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in style with more medal success on the final day of action in Hungary.
Will Short made it two medals for the championships as he and Alex Worgan claimed a brilliant silver in the junior men’s K2 behind favourites Kevin Budai and Zarand Lanczi.
It left Great Britain sixth in the overall medal table with a gold, silver and bronze, following a fourth-place finish in the European Championships, while there were three golds and a bronze for GB’s paracanoe paddlers.
To read the rest of today’s write-up, you can visit the Paddle UK website post here.
The Great Britain team put down some more solid performances on day three of the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Hungary.
European K1 longcourse champion James Russell was unable to add a world medal in a fast-paced senior men’s K1 final won by Mads Pedersen, but recorded the day’s best finish for GB in sixth.
Russell lined up alongside team-mate Matt Johnson in a huge 44-man field, and after a predictably hectic start, both manoeuvred themselves into the front group before Russell got into an early breakaway group of eight.
To read the full write-up, visit the Paddle UK Website Page here.
Dianora De Bilio secured a brilliant maiden medal for Great Britain on day two of the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Hungary.
After claiming two world titles on a hectic opening day of short course in Gyor, GB were quickly back in the medals once more as attention switched to the longer distances.
De Bilio produced a powerful finish to claim a well-deserved bronze in the junior women’s K1.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m very happy and really looking forward to tomorrow as well,” said the under 16s paddler who still has two more years of racing in the junior category.
And after success in KL1 on day one, former Paralympic champion Jeanette Chippington picked up her second gold medal of the championships in the women’s senior VL2 race.
To read the full article, visit the Paddle UK website here.
Great Britain celebrated a gold medal double as the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships got under way in Hungary.
Buoyed by a fine European Championships in June, a confident British squad brought this momentum into a busy opening day of 3.6k short distance heats and finals in Gyor.
Will Short turned in a stunning performance to win Britain’s first-ever junior men’s short course gold.
And with official Paracanoe world titles contested for the first time here, Jeanette Chippington became Britain’s first-ever official Paracanoe marathon world champion with a dominant performance in the women’s 6km KL1 race.
To read the rest of today’s article, visit the Paddle UK News Page here.
The final international of the 2025 season is here and it is going to be a busy week of racing in Gyor, Hungary. Our Masters racing team kicked off the competition on Monday with the K1/C1 races, with triple medal success, followed by the K2/C2 races today. You can see all the finishes on the results page here. Well done to the whole team for an amazing competition once again! If you wish to get involved with the Masters team in the future, visit our dedicated information here to find out more.
The Junior, Under 23, Senior and Para racing kicks off from Thursday, with the official debut of para classes taking place on the first day alongside short course racing for the other categories. With multiple entries in races across all four days of competition, it will be an action-packed four days of racing so make sure you tune in to cheer on our amazing British team.
Start lists and live results for all events can be found here. Any live updates from our British team will be shared via our social media platforms throughout the event as well.
All racing will be live streamed via the PlanetCanoe Youtube Channel. For full information on how to become a member to the channel to access the live stream, visit our how to watch Canoe Marathon website page.
| 07:00 BST | K1 Junior Women Short Course Heat 1 | Kamila Sklenarova (Norwich) |
| 07:30 BST | K1 Junior Women Short Course Heat 2 | Dianora De Bilio (Royal) |
| 08:00 BST | K1 Junior Men Short Course Heat 1 | Will Short (Elmbridge) |
| 08:30 BST | K1 Junior Men Short Course Heat 2 | Will Roeser (Wey) |
| 09:30 BST | C1 Senior Men Short Course Heat 1 | Owen Chisholm (Richmond) |
| 10:00 BST | K1 Senior Women Short Course Heat 1 | Jessica Urquhart (Nottingham) |
| 11:30 BST | K1 Senior Men Short Course Heat 2 | Charlie Smith (Nottingham) James Russell (Chelmsford) |
| 12:45 BST | Open Paracanoe Men | Jon White (Exeter) |
| 12:50 BST | VL2 Senior Men | Shaun Cook (Norwich) |
| 12:55 BST | KL3 Senior Women | Charlotte Creamer (Leighton Buzzard) |
| 14:30 BST | K1 Junior Women Short Course Final | |
| 15:00 BST | K1 Junior Men Short Course Final | |
| 15:30 BST | C1 Senior Women Short Course Final | Beth Gill (Nottingham) |
| 16:00 BST | C1 Senior Men Short Course Final | |
| 16:30 BST | K1 Senior Women Short Course Final | |
| 17:00 BST | K1 Senior Men Short Course Final |
| 08:00 BST | K1 Junior Women | Kamila Sklenarova (Norwich) Dianora De Bilio (Royal) |
| 08:05 BST | C1 Under 23 Men | Owen Chisholm (Richmond) |
| 08:10 BST | C1 Junior Women | Isabella Keane (Richmond) |
| 10:20 BST | KL2 Senior Men | Jonathan White (Exeter) |
| 10:20 BST | KL3 Senior Men | Timothy Lodge (Wey) |
| 10:25 BST | VL2 Senior Women | Jeanette Chippington (Bisham) |
| 13:00 BST | K1 Under 23 Women | Katie Brookes (Richmond) |
| 15:15 BST | K1 Under 23 Men | Joe Enoch (Nottingham) |
| 08:00 BST | K1 Junior Men | Will Short (Elmbridge) Will Roeser (Wey) |
| 10:15 BST | K2 Junior Women | Kamila Sklenarova (Norwich) & Dianora De Bilio (Royal) |
| 10:25 BST | C1 Senior Women | Beth Gill (Nottingham) |
| 13:30 BST | K1 Senior Women | Katie Brookes (Richmond) |
| 15:50 BST | K1 Senior Men | James Russell (Chelmsford) Matt Johnson (Nottingham) |
| 08:00 BST | K2 Junior Men | Alex Worgan (Richmond) & William Short (Elmbridge) |
| 10:00 BST | K2 Senior Women | Jessica Urquhart (Nottingham) & Brynde Kreft (Falcon) |
| 12:30 BST | K2 Senior Men | James Russell (Chelmsford) & Charlie Smith (Nottingham) Matthew Johnson & Joe Enoch (Nottingham) |
We are looking forward to some exciting racing over the next few days! Good luck to all!
The World Games in Chengdu, China saw canoe marathon take place last weekend.
With humid and varied weather across the weekend, the best racers from the top 20 countries in the world took to the water, including GB athletes James Russell and Melissa Johnson.
Both appeared in short and long distance races across Saturday and Sunday, qualifying for their respective finals at Xinglong Lake.
To read the full article, visit the Paddle UK News page here.
