The first team medals of the ICF Slalom World Championships 2025 were awarded on Tuesday, with powerhouse nations France and Czechia dominating the canoe event.   

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In the men’s race, the French delivered a masterclass in coordination and speed, claiming gold ahead of Great Britain and Slovenia.  

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Australia’s men – Tristan Carter, Kaylen Bassett, and Ben Ross – produced three fast and faultless runs to finish fourth, narrowly missing the podium after holding bronze position until the final run.

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“It was nerve-racking,” Ross said. “We were off early, so it was a long wait. The French, GB, the Slovenians – they’re the powerhouses of the sport,” he said. 

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The Czech team set the pace in the women’s event, finishing over three seconds ahead of a strong German trio and Great Britain who had a mishap at the top and paddler 3 had to move into second position.

Australia’s women – Noemie Fox, Georgia O’Callaghan, and Kate Eckhardt – finished ninth, showing promise but unable to match the medal pace.

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Attention now turns to Wednesday’s Kayak Heats (K1) and Kayak Teams events, where another wave of international talent will take to the water.

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What the medalists said: 

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Martina Satkova - Czechia - Gold 

"It feels incredible because it's a World Championships. I'm so happy and proud of ourselves that we made it and here in Sydney, it's so special. I think it's the best course ever - it's the home of Jess and Noemie Fox. We think it's nice to win here."

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Adriana Morenova - Czechia - Gold 

On the race and their tactics:

"We are all friends so there were no tactics."

"It's a good start to all of the races because we already have a medal."

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Gabriela Satkova - Czechia - Gold 

"I'm incredibly happy because it's not just about the medal but the feeling of putting down a great run. And especially if you get to share it with friends and of course family [with sister Martina] it's just great."

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Elena Lilik - Germany - Silver 

“I think we had a pretty solid run, we were able to keep it clean and we nailed the last move, which helped us come second. It was a lot of fun and I think after the first five gates, we were really in the flow and everything was fine.

“We have been a team since the world championships in 2022 in Augsburg. We won silver there too, so it's really nice to be back on the podium after such a long time. 

“We (the team) live in two different places in Germany, we don't get to do a lot of training but we've practiced here in preparation and it was like harmony. It just fit and we were able to show that today.”

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On visiting Australia: 

“Two of us are here (in Australia) for the second or third time but Nele is a newcomer. We've already been to the Blue Mountains and Manly Beach and it's amazing. Everywhere you get good coffee and the weather is beautiful and we're enjoying it very much.

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On the course: 

“It's an amazing course, so many features. It's so long, you can do so many moves on it. It's a really, really good course and we're enjoying to paddle on it. 

“We're doing everything here with a lot of love and we're receiving it back, and we're feeling it. It's amazing to represent your country at the world championships . We're giving our best and thanks for crossing your fingers.”

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Andrea Herzog - Germany - Silver 

“I know it's not the best watching time at home, it's in the middle of the night actually, but I'm really grateful for all the support we are getting from home. They are turning on their alarms so they're awake and watching us and supporting us from home. And some even came all the way here to support us.”

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Kimberley Woods - Great Britain - Bronze 

On the run:

“It’s just about staying calm in the moment”

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Ellis Miller - Great Britain - Bronze 

On changing from 3rd to 2nd position:

“This is a really great team building off the back of Paris where we had a slight disappointment. 

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“The slight mishap at the top..thankfully I’ve got a bit of experience at being boat 2 in team runs from my Under 23s career so I just slotted into that and took over Beth’s role and Beth took over my role and was happy to come away with the bronze.” ‍

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Nicolas Gestin - France - Gold 

"It feels good for sure. After 2023 I feel like it proved to everyone the French team has great density. Pretty great to do it today.

"The course looks good, second time here, the last time was six years ago. We are happy to be part of it."

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On how gold sets them up for the rest of the Championships:

"For sure, you know your speed, you know you can bring some good runs."

"For me it is more like an individual race and now we have to change the mentality but today was a good one."

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Luc Royle - Great Britain - Silver 

 "We had a good run in for the World Champs earlier in the year then we switched up the order for this - did all the training with Adam in front and Ryan (WESTLEY) at the back then had a look at the course and we favoured right into the top and left into the bottom so we swapped it up and it paid off"

"It felt like a bit of a risk as we hadn't trained that way but we've all paddled in different parts of the team and so we knew our roles. It was three good individual performances and that's what you need to get on a teams podium."

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Ryan Westley - Great Britain - Silver 

 "For sure we knew the Australian boys were going to be really good here and we had no idea what we really needed to do. We went out there and tried our hardest and to cross the line and see green is what you want. Crossed our fingers but unfortunately the Frenchy's delivered it - like they always do."

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Mark Mirgoorodsky - Slovenia - Bronze 

"It feels great, third in the World Champs but I'm also happy because we did a good run today. It's been a while since we were on the podium in a teams run. It's always challenging. You have to be perfect and we did a perfect run. I think we can win more medals."