Eighteen New Zealand paddlers will line up at Halifax Harbour when the 2026 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships gets underway overnight. Racing begins in the early hours of Thursday 2 July (NZ time), with competition running through to Sunday 5 July local time.
The championships have drawn 642 athletes from 54 countries, making it one of the biggest gatherings of junior and emerging sprint talent on the international calendar. The Kiwi contingent spans a broad range of experience. Some athletes will be tasting world championship racing for the first time, while others arrive with international pedigree and genuine medal ambitions across what promises to be a fiercely competitive programme.
In the junior women's competition, depth spans several boat classes. Taylor Newman, Jacqueline Kennedy, Stella Crossan and Alexis Toy combine in the K4 500m, with each also carrying individual or paired commitments. Kennedy contests the K1 500m, Newman lines up in the K1 200m, and Crossan and Toy pair together in the K2 500m. On the junior men's side, Lachlan Harkness takes on the K1 1000m and teams with Oliver Hutchinson in the K2 500m. Hutchinson has also been named in the mixed 5km relay alongside Toy.
Among the U23 competitors, Thomas MacGibbon and Sam Lees are both entered in K1 events across the 200m, 500m and 1000m distances. Reid Clancy targets the 1000m, while Dylan Monk and Tiago Chamberlain join Lees and Clancy to complete the men's K4 500m crew. Madison Garrett and Olive Pearce form the women's K2 500m pairing, with Garrett also entered in the K1 500m. Natasha MacGibbon rounds out the women's U23 programme, competing over the 1000m distance.
Live racing streams via Planet Canoe's YouTube channel, with a $16.99 monthly membership providing access to uninterrupted coverage. Full schedules and live results are available through the event's timing portal, and Canoe Racing NZ's Instagram and Facebook pages will carry updates throughout the week.
