History favours Hungary

WHILE the eyes of the canoeing world are fixed on the Czech Republic town of Racice this week, attention is already turning to the other end of the globe and the 25th edition of the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships.

It will be the second time since the inaugural event in 1988 that the global title decider will be held on the African continent, after Cape Town hosted the event in 1998. The only other southern hemisphere country to have hosted the event is Australia.

Hungary comes to the 2017 event as the clearly dominant global marathon racing superpower, having won 131 senior medals in kayak and C boat racing in the previous 24 editions of the marathon world champs, made up of 30 women’s K2 medals, 29 men’s C2, 27 men’s C1, 20 women’s K1, 13 men’s K2 and nine men’s K1 medals.

The Hungarian success has been built on their depth of talent in both the men’s and women’s ranks, and their dominance in the C boat classes as well as the kayak classes. Their paddling icon Renáta Csay has won no less than 27 medals, 17 of them golds in the women’s K1 and K2 championships races since her first in 1999.

In C boat racing Edvin Csaba’s domination after the millennium segued into the arrival on the scene of Márton Kövér, who ensured that a Hungarian held the world title nine times in 13 years.

Spain are second on the all-time medal winners chart, thanks largely to their men’s kayakers Manuel Busto, Emilio Merchán, Álvaro Fernández, Walter Bouzan and Ivan Alonso.

Great Britain enjoyed consistent medals in the nineties, when Ivan Lawler and Anna Hemmings were consistently successful. – Gameplan Media