The 2025 ICF Slalom World Championships will feature over 300 of the world's best paddlers from 45 nations. With so many big names coming to Penrith Whitewater Stadium from 29 September to 4 October, we've put together a list of paddlers to have on your radar when watching at the venue or live and free at home on Channel 9 and 9Now!

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Ones to Watch: Women

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Kimberley Woods

Country: Great Britain

What a season Woods is having. After the double Olympic medals, it was a slow start in the ICF World Cup circuit for the British star. She won the C1 and K1 overall crowns and almost made it to the top in kayak cross, and will be among the ones to beat in Penrith. The six-time world champion also bagged two European bronze medals in 2025. She has a Bachelor of Science Honors in Sports Studies from the University of Hertfordshire and is a mental health champion.

Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (K1 and Kayak Cross Bronze)

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Ricarda Funk 

Country: Germany 

Away from the water, Funk studied media and communication sciences at the University of Augsburg. The Olympic champion from Tokyo has been at the top for many years now. A four-time world champion, Paris 2024 did not go according to plan for Funk, who recovered spectacularly in the 2025 season. She won the European K1 gold to start the year and went on to win the overall kayak cross World Cup title. 

Achievements: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (K1 Gold)

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Evy Leibfarth
Country: United States
Leibfarth has a collection of medals at the junior and senior levels. She competed in canoe, kayak, and kayak cross at the Paris 2024, making her the first American woman to qualify for three whitewater events at the Games, where she took bronze in the C1. Apart from hiking and snowboarding while free, Leibfarth plans on majoring in Biology at Davidson College.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (C1 Bronze)

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Camille Prigent
Country: France
Prigent, who is also a PE teacher, is a two-time world medallist and loves to travel and dance. Her medal record at the U23 and junior level is equally impressive in Europe and at World Championships. In 2025, she picked up seven medals at the World Cup circuit and also added two European titles to her name.
Achievements: World Championships (K1 Team Gold, 2018; Kayak Cross Bronze, 2023)

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Marta Bertoncelli
Country: Italy
Bertoncelli made her Olympic debut in C1 in Tokyo and won her Paris 2024 ticket at the 2023 World Championships in London, finishing 20th at the Games. She loves to travel and plays the ukulele. She is a U23 and junior world champion.
Achievements: European Championships (C1 Team Bronze, 2025)

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Miren Lazkano
Country: Spain
Among the stories of the 2025 season, she has three World Cup podium finishes this season, including two golds. The European champion from 2021 showed her mental strength at the World Cup in La Seu, where she won C1 silver two weeks after losing her mother to cancer.
Achievements: World Championships (C1 Team Silver, 2021)

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Zuzana Pankova
Country: Slovakia 
Among the brightest talents out there, Pankova has delivered at junior, U23, and senior levels. She took the C1 gold medal at the World Cup in Prague this year and also won the U23 kayak cross individual world title and C1 silver in Foix. For a bit more perspective on how good she is, Pankova won her first senior European medal at 16.
Achievements: European Championships (C1 Team Gold, 2021 and 2022; K1 Bronze, 2024 and 2025)

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Lois Leaver
Country: Great Britain
Whatever her brother Sam did, Lois matched or even did better. The sibling duo has had plenty of success in 2025. At the World Cup opener in La Seu in 2025, she opened her senior account with a bronze medal in the kayak cross. Since then, she has been sensational, finishing second in the overall  women’s kayak World Cup, and third in the overall kayak cross standings.
Achievements: World Championships (K1 Team Gold, 2023)

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Angele Hug
Country: France
Hug has won multiple World Championships medals at the U23 level and is a European bronze medallist from 2021. She is a licensed sports trainer from the University of Pau and the Adour Countries. At the home Games in 2024, she won kayak cross silver. She won multiple European and World Cup medals this year.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Kayak Cross Silver)

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Noemie Fox
Country: Australia
Bio: Coming from one of the most famous paddling families, Fox made history in Paris by winning the first women’s kayak cross Olympic gold. A home World Championships, with champion sister Jessica Fox injured and out, will be extra motivation for her.  
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Kayak Cross Gold)

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Ones to Watch: Men

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‍Titouan Castryck
Country: France
With a sports science degree from the University of Strasbourg in 2023, Castryck made waves at the international level, winning junior and U23 world titles and a bronze from the European Games in 2023. The  two-time world medallist. In Paris, he took it to the next level and won silver on his debut. In 2025, he won the overall men’s K1 World Cup title, showing no signs of slowing down.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (K1 Silver)

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‍Mateusz Polaczyk
Country: Poland
At 37, Polaczyk showed he can still be at the top, winning K1 bronze at the World Cup in Tacen in 2025.  Polaczyk made his Olympic debut at London 2012, where he finished fourth in the K1. He is a three-time European champion.
Achievements: World Championships (K1 Silver, 2011 and 2015) 

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Nicolas Gestin
Country: France
In his Olympic debut at home, Gestin proved he is the successor to the legendary Tony Estanguet, winning the C1 title. He is a two-time world champion and has a silver at the level. The Tremeven native has also shone at the junior and U23 level in Europe and at the World Championships. He has studied urban planning and development as a fan of the video game FIFA, now known as EA FC.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (C1 Gold)

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Miquel Trave‍

Country: Spain

Trave has done well in the World Cup circuit over the years and has a full set of medals. Apart from that, he won a silver medal at the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships and has a gold and a silver at the 2023 European Games in Krakow. In 2025, he won the European C1 title and also added a K1 Team bronze.  

Achievements: World Championships (C1 Team Silver, 2019)

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Finn Butcher
Country: New Zealand
Bio: Butcher made his Olympic debut at Paris 2024 count, by becoming the first men’s Kayak Cross champion at the Games. A K1 reserve at Tokyo 2020, he started paddling at the age of nine and has constantly improved over the years. He has a Bachelor’s in Sports and Exercise Science from Massey University and won a kayak cross World Cup silver on the Paris 2024 Olympic course in 2023.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Kayak Cross Gold)

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Yohann Senechault
Country: France
Senechault made sure the overall World Cup race for the C1 in 2025 was interesting, challenging Olympic champion and compatriot Nicolas Gestin all the way. A few costly errors cost him big as he finished second overall, but the youngster would be keen for a comeback Down Under. In the middle of all this, he won U23 C1 team silver in Foix.
Achievements: World Championships (U23 C1 Team Silver)

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Jonny Dickson
Country: Great Britain
Bio: The 2024 kayak cross individual silver medallist from 2024 has taken the thrilling event by storm this season. He won two kayak cross silver medals and one kayak cross individual title at the 2025 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series. He also has U23 European and world medals to his name. 
Achievements: European Championships (Kayak Cross Individual Silver, 2024)

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‍Jan Rohrer
Country: Switzerland
Bio: It has been a breakthrough year for the Swiss, who finished third overall in the individual kayak cross at the ICF World Cup circuit.
Achievements: World Cup 1(Kayak Cross Gold, 2025)

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Giovanni De Gennaro
Country: Italy
Bio: A moment that he had waited all his life finally materialised as he won K1 gold in Paris. Before entering the world of paddling, De Gennaro dabbled in basketball and karate. The  music lover who plays the guitar has  a full set of World Championships medals. He has also excelled in the junior and U23 age groups.
Achievements: Olympic Games Paris 2024 (K1 Gold)

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Anatole Delassus
Country: France
Finishing second only to Olympic medallist Titouan Castryck in the overall K1 World Cup tally in 2025, Delassus has enjoyed a fruitful year. Finishing with a gold in Augsburg will give the Frenchman plenty of confidence ahead of Penrith.
Achievements: World Championships (U23 K1 Gold, 2024)

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Lucien Delfour
Country: Australia
Bio: A junior world and European medallist in 2006, Delfour has found a new lease of life in the 2025 season. He started the year with a K1 and Kayak Cross Silver at the Oceania Championships. At the first ICF World Cup of the season in La Seu, he stood on the podium for the first time in six years and went on to add to his tally. The home World Championships will surely bring the best of him again.    
Achievements: Oceania Championships (Kayak Cross and K1 Silver, 2025)

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For the full schedule of the ICF Slalom World Championships, click here.

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