ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Championships have taken place every non-Olympic year since 1970 and officially included paracanoe events since 2010; since 2012, paracanoe-specific editions of this event (named ICF Paracanoe World Championships) have been held in Summer Paralympic years.

Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing.

Explanation of events
Canoe sprint competitions are broken up into canoe (C), an open canoe with a single-blade paddle, or in kayaks (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. Each canoe or kayak can hold one person (1), two people (2), or four people (4). For each of the specific canoes or kayaks, such as a K-1 (kayak single), the competition distances can be 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m, or 5000 m long. When a competition is listed as a C-2 500 m event as an example, it means two people are in a canoe competing at a 500 m distance.

Paracanoe competitions are contested in either a va'a (V), an outrigger canoe (which includes a second pontoon) with a single-blade paddle, or in a kayak (as above). All international competitions are held over 200 metres in single-man boats, with three event classes in both types of vessel for men and women depending on the level of an athlete's impairment. The lower the classification number, the more severe the impairment is – for example, VL1 is a va'a competition for those with particularly severe impairments.

Editions
ICF Paracanoe World Championships (paracanoe events only)
 * Events exclude exhibition events.

Note

 * The 2020 ICF Paracanoe World Championships were cancelled as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Events
(*) Indicates exhibition events (not counted towards total)

Editions Junior and U23

 * ICF Canoe Sprint Junior World Championships from 1985 to 2011
 * ICF Canoe Sprint Junior and U23 World Championships from 2013

Source:

Lists of medalists

 * List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in men's Canadian
 * List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in women's Canadian
 * List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in men's kayak
 * List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in women's kayak
 * List of ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in paracanoe

Canoe sprint (1938–2023)
This medal table does not include exhibition events. The historical medal count of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships as of the 2023 championships is as follows:

Paracanoe (2010–2024)
This medal table does not include exhibition events. Events were occasionally excluded from their respective medal tables due to lack of participation, but are included in this overall table. The historical medal count of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships as of the 2023 championships is as follows:

https://www.canoeicf.com/paracanoe-world-championships/szeged-2024


 * Note