Titouan Castryck (FRA) delivered a performance under pressure to extend France’s medal tally at the ICF Slalom World Championships 2025, clinching gold in the Men’s Kayak (K1) Final in Penrith.

Already an Olympic silver medallist from Paris, Castryck arrived determined to go one better, and did just that, rising to the occasion when it mattered most.

Ranked world number one, he was fastest in the semi-final and the athlete to beat in the final. His decisive run was 1.46 seconds ahead of nearest rival Jakub Krejci (CZE), who claimed silver, with fellow Czech paddler Jiri Prskavec rounding out the podium in third.

For Castryck, the win marked a career milestone, made even more meaningful by the presence of his parents, who travelled to Australia to support him.

“Winning gold here is a dream. Even though I had an exceptional season, it was at the World Championships that I needed to deliver – that’s where it really counts.”

“That’s where the federation evaluates us, where everyone is assessed from all sides. It’s done now, so it’s perfect.”

“The feeling was pretty special – I didn’t necessarily think I’d go for this title in terms of sensations, but in the end, it was enough.”

“It was my idea for my parents to come. I bought their plane tickets with the money I earned from the Olympics. I really wanted them to be here and to experience these amazing racing moments. Above all, I wanted us, after the championships, to visit the country a little together, because we’re in such a beautiful place. We've rented a van. When we leave here, we’ll drive up to Brisbane. I surf a bit, so we’ll try to hit the best beaches.”

“Now there’s still one more day left, and then we’ll head off on holidays. I’m super happy – I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to end the season.”

Having finished the semi-final in fourth, Australia’s Lucien Delfour was in contention but incurred a two-second penalty, placing him fifth. Tim Anderson finished 10th.

The action continues Saturday 4 October with the men’s and women’s kayak cross finals from 10am AEST.

Watch live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now.

What the athletes said:

Titouan CASTRYCK (FRA - gold)

“Now there’s still one more day left, and then we’ll head off on holidays. I’m super happy – I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to end the season.”

“Honestly, in slalom I had the status of a favourite at the moment, but in cross I’m far from that. I’ll do my best, and we’ll see how things add up at the end of the day. I’ll take the races one by one and see what comes out of it. I don’t really have huge expectations, and I’m not particularly counting on becoming world champion.”

Jakub Krejci (CZE) – silver

 On winning a silver medal:

“That was great, yeah it's awesome. I was super nervous before my final run. I didn't feel good on the water early in the run, but in the end I stuck around and had a good run, and yeah this medal is great, I’m very happy.”

“I didn't do the first part of the course that I wanted, I did better in the semi-final. But I figured it out and then I was feeling super good ans thought, I know that I can do this. So I was really trusting myself.”

“When I finished, I already knew that I would have medal, so I was super happy. I just was hoping for the best result.”

“Before the World Championships kicked off, I didn’t want to focus on the results. I just wanted to focus on a solid run and do the best I can. I feel like I did that today and this medal is great.”

 On the Kayak Cross on Saturday:

“We will see. I got a bronze in the kayak cross individual early in the week. Nowa silver today, maybe it will come to the gold tomorrow.”

“We will see what happens tomorrow. You need to have some luck to make a good run in this four-person event. I have a good starting spot because I can choose the line on the ramp. So we will see, I will try to do my best as always.”

Jiri Prskavec (CZE)  

“It feels amazing to win the bronze medal. Australia and particularly Penrith is my second home and I have lived and trained here for at least two years. I'm really excited that I wa sable to maybe break not such a good season as I've had this year’s and secure a medal here. I'm really truly happy that I managed to.

“Jakub (Krejci) has been really fast throughout the whole season and I think he always had a stupid touch or something, so I'm really happy for him as well. I think the winner also deserved to win because Titouan (Castryck) has been exceptional throughout the whole season. I really think he is the king now.”

“I'm staying in Australia for half a year now. Tomorrow I will watch and cheer, and then I will go home for two weeks but my family, my two boys and my wife will stay here. After two weeks at home I will come back and jump back into training and we'll spend sometime until February. I'm really excited for that.”

“I will still be Czech, but if there is another country that I'll be very close to it will definitely be Australia. I'm partly Aussie.”

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