Britain’s canoe sprint athletes begin their international racing season with the first ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup set to take place in Szeged, Hungary this weekend.
The event kicks off the first of two competitions to start 2025, with the team moving onto Poznan, Poland next week.
Amy Green (Worcester) and Abi Burgess (Wey) will be making their senior team debuts in Hungary in the K1 200m, with Amy also racing in the K1 1000m.
2024 World Cup bronze medallist Emily Lewis (Worcester) will be racing alongside Chelmsford’s Emma Russell in the K1 500m, with the pair joining Zoe Clark (Royal) and Lucy Lee-Smith (Norwich) for the K4.
U23 2024 European K2 500m Champion Zoe and Norwich’s Lucy will join forces for the K2 500m, with marathon short course world champion Beth Gill taking on three events in the 200m, 500m, and 5000m events.
In the men’s events, Tom Holland (Wey) makes his senior international debut in the K1 200.
Matt Collinge (Fowey) and Phil Miles (Royal Leamington Spa) will compete in the K1 500m, with Matt doubling up to race in the K1 1000m along with Dan Johnson (Nottingham).
After impressing during 2024, Tom Lambert makes up the men’s team, he’ll go in the C1 500m.
Ekaitz Saies, head coach for Paddle UK’s canoe sprint team, said:
“This marks the first international competition of the new Olympic season, and cycle. Like many other teams, we’ve undergone changes in both staff and crews, which means there are fewer clear benchmarks for what to expect from the global field.
“What we do know is that our winter training has gone well. We started to build a coherent system aligned with our long-term goals, fostered a positive team culture, and we’re eager to see how that translates on the water.
“From a performance perspective, we’re not aiming to peak at these early World Cups. Our focus is firmly on building towards the European Championships and, ultimately, the World Championships later this summer.
“That said, we’re expecting to see some strong performances and a brave, committed approach to racing.”
The racing starts on Friday 16 May, with Tom Lambert the first Brit in action at 8am.
Live results can be followed here and all the action can be watched on the Planet Canoe YouTube
How to watch
Planet Canoe YouTube channel members will have exclusive access to live coverage of all the major International Canoe Federation events in 2024 for €9.99 a month.
Sign into YouTube, or create an account, and click JOIN to watch uninterrupted live coverage of the world’s best paddlers competing for top honours.
Sign in to YouTube, or create an account
Go to Planet Canoe’s channel
Click ‘JOIN’ and fill out your payment details
After becoming a member, you will have access to the exclusive members tab and can watch members-only content.
World Cup 1 Team
Men’s
K1 200m – Tom Holland (Wey)
K1 500m Matt Collinge (Fowey), Phil Miles (Royal Leamington Spa)
K1 1000m Dan Johnson (Nottingham), Matt Collinge
C1 500m Tom Lambert (Lincoln)
Women’s
K1 200m – Amy Green (Worcester), Abi Burgess (Wey)
K1 500m – Emma Russell (Chelmsford), Emily Lewis (Worcester)
K2 500m – Zoe Clark (Royal) / Lucy Lee-Smith (Norwich)
K4 500m – Emily Lewis / Emma Russell / Zoe Clark / Lucy Lee-Smith
K1 1000m – Abi Burgess
K1 5000m – Zoe Clark
C1 200m – Beth Gill (Nottingham)
C1 500m – Beth Gill
C1 5000m – Beth Gill