Lisa Carrington followed her brothers into surfing as a kid. She also played netball but with her 168 centimetres she was too short to play this game as a professional. Finally, she fully focused on water sports. That’s how the kayaking phenomena Lisa Carrington was born.

She managed to gain two Olympic medals at single Olympics as the first New Zealand female athlete – in Rio she won gold medal in 200 m and bronze medal in 500 m. But as she says, it’s not the result what matters the most. Her main goal is to get better every time she gets into boat.

Martin Doktor, the double Olympic champion in canoe sprint, has settled down in Račice thanks to great training opportunities. He rarely paddles nowadays but he still visits almost every competition that takes place at the Račice venue. And he will not miss the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in August.

What does it mean for you to have the World Championships almost behind your house?

“It means a lot to me! The World Championships in Račice in the Czech Republic should have been there long time ago. It’s a shame that it didn’t work until now. It would have been much better if it had happened in time of my professional career. But to be honest, it means a lot for Račice, for the Czech Canoe Union and for supporting our sport not only in the Czech Republic. Also it will be a bit easier for me.”

Journalists are welcome to place their accreditation requests for the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Račice via an electronic form HERE. Deadline is set for August 1st, 2017. In case you need accommodation, check more information HERE. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Danish kayaker René Holten Poulsen is a triple world champion and six-time European champion. He graduated as a carpenter but since 2011 he has professionally focused on sport. He trains two to three times a day, three months in a year he spends abroad on training camps. Combination of strong-mindedness and willingness to train more and harder than others makes him one of the best kayakers in the world. Not in vain he’s called Powerhouse Poulsen.

Czech K4 has been successful with the same crew since the 2012 Olympic Games ito the last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, crew has changed this year. Nevertheless, Jakub Špicar, Daniel Havel, Radek Šlouf and Jan Štěrba gained two bronze medals at the World Cup races despite the fact that their major discipline has been shortened for just a half – 500 m instead of a kilometre. “We suit each other,” says Jakub Špicar, the medallist from junior and U 23 championships.

As a small kid, Martin Fuksa dreamed that one day he would play ice hockey for New Jersey Devils in NHL. However, after a single hockey match he paradoxically decided to bring his desire to be the best into a family sport – canoe sprint. Since today he has gained two silver medals at the World Championships on one kilometre race, he’s the world champion on 500m and four-time in a row European champion on the same race. On top of that he won two World Cup races at the beginning of this season i Montemor.

Only 100 days left to the start of the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships which takes place from the 23rd to the 27th of August at Labe Arena in Račice. You can look forward to the great Czech athletes competing with the Olympic and the World champions. We will start with paracanoe races which you can watch for free on the 23rd of August. Tickets for the next days are available at Ticketstream portal.

The Labe arena Račice venue is getting ready for the upcoming European Rowing Championship as well as the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. New catering area is already in use. There are new utility rooms. The area around the main tribune is nicely renewed. Also part of the tower went through a renovation. The new canal was built at the 600 meters mark above finish line. 

The International Canoe Federation ICF has decided to change the disciplines for the 2017 ICF World Canoe Sprint Championships in Račice. Unlike previously announced there won`t be equal amount of races for male and female paddlers. The planned program is similar to schedule of 2015 World Championships. Therefore C1 500 m, K2 200 m or C4 races are back on schedule, as well as K4 1000 m. There is another K4 race as K4 500 m stayed also. You can check the provisional schedule HERE.

Three times Olympic medallist Josef Dostál has arrived from a training in sunny California. Just few days after his return he has started a season on Dr. Karel Popel’s Memorial, he won there 5 kilometres kayak race and also awarded some of the best competitors.