Australia will be proudly represented by 33 athletes at the 2023 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Vejen, Denmark, which gets underway on Monday 28 August.
There will be 17 athletes competing in the Masters World Championships from 28 – 29 August, before 16 Aussies compete in the Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships from 31 August to 3 September.
2023 national champion Rebecca Mann will be competing at her fourth Senior World Championships in Denmark in the Short Course K1, Long Course K1 and Long Course K2 with fellow victorian Hannah Scott.
At the 2022 World Championships in Portugal, she placed 11th in the K1 Short Course, 12th in the Long Course and 6th in the K2.
The Mercantile Kayak Club paddler – who is already in Denmark training with the Silkeborg Kayak Club ahead of the World Championships – said she headed to Europe early to give herself the best shot at improving her placings at this year’s World Championships.
“My goals this year are to improve on last year’s placings, which means a top 10 finish in singles and a top 5 placing in doubles,” Mann said.
“My preparation for this year’s marathon champs have been a bit different, as I’ve taken some extended leave from work so I can come over to Denmark a bit early and train with their marathon team here in Silkeborg.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity and extremely helpful to my preparations. I can’t thank the Silkeborg Kayak Club and their coach here enough for their hospitality. Of course this time away doesn’t go without its sacrifices, so I thank everyone at home for the sacrifices they’ve made to allow me to pursue my goals.”
With the likes of 6x World Championships Paddler Josh Kippin joining Mann as team leaders, she said it’s great to see a mixture of youth and experience in this year’s Australian team.
“It’s very special to have this opportunity to compete again and be part of this team. This team is quite diverse, we have a lot of new paddlers and people who will be competing in their first world championships, along with some very familiar faces, so I won’t be the only one looking to improve on previous places.”
One such paddler making their World Championships debut is Junior Women’s paddler Emma Murphy from INCC Yarra Paddlers in Victoria.
Set to compete in the Long Course K1 and the Long Course K2 with fellow Victorian Isabella Parish, Murphy said she isn’t putting pressure on herself to achieve certain results, but focusing more on enjoying the experience and delivering her personal best.
“My ambitions for this event are to come off the water feeling proud of myself and not to expect myself to achieve any placing goals… I want to make myself proud, I want to make my coach proud, I want to make my family proud… but I am just happy to be going really,” she said.
“I feel really honored to have been selected to the Australian team, I am really grateful to my team that have supported me along the way. I am grateful to Paddle Australia and Paddle Victoria. It’s an honor [to be selected], it feels quite surreal.
“I am really excited to get out there and get on the course to experience what it’s like; I imagine the atmosphere will be quite tense but on the water it will all dissipate.”
The World Championships will take place on Lake Jels in the municipality of Vejen, Denmark, which Mann said will provide for some interesting and tactical racing.
“The course in Vejen is an interesting one. I haven’t seen it yet but the local Danes have warned it can be shallow, weedy and windy,” she said.
“The portage will probably throw a lot of paddlers off. They get out at a pontoon which can be accessed at both sides and the get in is a very shallow beach, so there will be a lot of strategies and tactics in the portage this year.”
The 2023 Canoe Marathon World Championships will be streamed live on the Planet Canoe Recast Channel
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2023 Australian Canoe Marathon Teams
Junior, U23 & Senior World Championships (31 August – 3 September, Vejen, Denmark)
Senior Men
David Cole (VIC) & Joaquin Cuevas Perea (VIC) – Long Course K2
Coran Longwood (WA) & Stephan Weyers (WA) – Long Course K2
Josh Kippin (WA) – Short Course K1, Long Course K1
Gergely Nagy (WA) – Short Course C1, Long Course C1
Senior Women
Hannah Scott (VIC) & Rebecca Mann (VIC) – Long Course K2
Rebecca Mann (VIC) – Short Course K1, Long Course K1
Reka Abraham (VIC) – Short Course C1, Long Course C1
Under 23 Men
Stephan Weyers (WA) – Long Course K1
Harry Hewitt (WA) – Long Course K1
Under 23 Women
Brianna Jones (VIC) – Long Course K1
Hannah Scott (VIC) – Long Course K1
Junior Men
Lachlan Dal Sasso (VIC) & Aidan Han (VIC) – Long Course K2
Aidan Han (VIC) – Long Course K1
Junior Women
Isabella Parish (VIC) & Emma Murray (VIC) – Long Course K2
Emma Murray (VIC) – Long Course K1
Chelsea Sutton (NSW) – Long Course K1
Masters World Championships (28-29 August, Vejen, Denmark)
Ann Lloyd-Green (NSW)
Brett Greenwood (NSW)
Cathy Venning (SA)
Craig Elliott (NSW)
Daniela Torre (NSW)
Darren Lee (NSW)
David Berglund (WA)
Dominic Scarfe (VIC)
Geoffery Horsnell (NSW)
John Young (VIC)
Laura Lee (NSW)
Lisa Newton (VIC)
Lyn McKenzie (QLD)
Mark Rickard (QLD)
Pauline Findlay (NSW)
Terry Bolland (WA)
Tony Bond (VIC)
