By Steffan Meyric Hughes

Photos:
Tom Clare Photography,
Harry Price,
Bence Vekassy/International Canoe Federation,
Bartosz Czauderna,
Rudiger Hauser,
Mike Shaw,
Lisette Nixon,
Seth Warren,
Kevin Bonar,
Jason Ambrose,
Nichole Jones,
Peter Holcombe &
Ottilie Robinson-Shaw​

Who to watch at the Freestyle Worlds this summer

It has been a decade since the 2012 London Olympics when team GB showed up and delivered medal after medal to the watching public. You’ll have to wait until the winter to watch the 2022 world cup in Qatar, and that’s only football. This year, the real event is the ICF Freestyle Worlds in Nottingham in the summer.

You’ve checked the website, https://britishcanoeingevents.org.uk/ freestyle2022/, you’ve got the spectator info, your free entry, taken part in the festival, partied the night away, and now you’re sat down, hot dog in hand, ready to watch the action! It might then dawn on you that you don’t have a clue about freestyle kayaking! Perhaps you don’t know your McNasty from your pistol flip, your Lunar orbit from your Tricky woo or your bow screw from your… Only joking… you won’t see the squirting anyway, at least not without diving gear.

Well, fear not! You don’t need to know! You’re here to enjoy the ride, not to judge. This article will not explain the moves the top athletes will be pulling, but it will tell you who you are coming to watch! And the storylines behind the scenes…

Men’s K1

The senior men’s category will be fiercely competitive. Dane Jackson, USA. Perhaps the GOAT in kayaking generally, let alone freestyle, Dane will be looking to prove that the new Rockstar V is as good in a hole as it is on a wave, which is what it is primarily designed for.

Quim Fontané Masó. The Catalonian has an aggressive, powerful style, an experienced competitor who fell just short on his home turf in Sort 2019. He will be looking for redemption and another world’s title. But so will his long-time training partner David Mclure. Having made the finals at the previous worlds and winning the European gold team, Ireland will look to take a medal sport in the upcoming worlds.

Team GB has three exceptional athletes in, Robert Crowe, Harry Price, and Gavin Barker, alongside the international athletes. I wouldn’t count any of them out! They are all capable of topping the podium and are the only three athletes in ICF history to break the 2,000-point barrier for a single ride.

The Nottingham-born local Rob Crowe held the ICF competition record for minutes before Harry Price pipped his score at last year’s Brit champs. With the smoothest style in the competition and the purest technique of any paddler, Rob certainly has the talent, skills and determination to succeed. He has beaten the biggest names in freestyle, but not on the world championship stage. Can he make one last step for gold with a home crowd behind him?

Always with a smile on his face, Harry Price is an all-round nice guy, but don’t let that fool you. He is fiercely competitive. Harry is the current holder of the world record highest score ever in an ICF event. Harry Price and his partner Ottie Robinson-Shaw will want to make these worlds their own. Will the couple both walk home with gold medals around their necks?

Gav Barker was the ‘2K club’ (2,000 points in a ride) founding member after first scoring over 2k in 2019. He will be one of the competition’s oldest competitors (barring EJ, of course), and he will want to leave his mark on this year’s worlds, competing on his home turf. Gav has the ability to go huge!

In any competition, there are dark horses and the senior men’s is so stacked that any number of competitors could be in with a shot. Look out for Canada’s kayaking celebrity Nick Troutman, GB’s 2011 World Champion; James ‘Pringle’ Bebbington (GB), USA’s current junior gold medallist Mason Hargrove; France’s Tom Dolle; Poland’s Tomasz Czaplicki and the mostly unknown German, now Nottingham local, Johannes Baaden. 

EJ! How can we do an article on who to watch without mentioning the Godfather himself! While EJ may no longer be dominating freestyle as he once did, he has, at 58 years old, seemingly achieved the remarkable feat of beating father time himself. His mysterious departure from Jackson Kayak has led him to found a new kayak company, Apex Watercraft. EJ has been working on a new freestyle kayak, the Rebound. He will want to show his athletic performance and his new freestyle machine. And who wouldn’t want to see a living legend of the scene compete once again for Team USA.

Women’s K1

In the senior women’s category, and just 20 years old, already a worldwide legend, is Ottie Robinson Shaw. She is the undisputed champion of women’s freestyle, and with her hero, Claire O’Hara, no longer competing, this will be her worlds to lose and her first as a senior. Ottie is throwing moves never before seen in women’s freestyle and has inspired a whole new generation of up-and-coming junior paddlers who would love to see their hero take the gold medal for the first time as a senior. There only real question is by how much she will win.

Japan’s greatest female freestyle kayaker Hitomi finally won a gold medal in Sort after winning multiple silver medals in past world championships. Hitomi will want to stop Ottie’s domination by retaining her world’s title.

The major battle will be for the remaining podium positions, and a fierce battle it should be. Look out for current French silver medallist Marlene Devillez and bronze medallist, Poland’s Zofia Tula, battling for a spot against team GB’s senior women. These are Emma Witherford, Heidi Walsh and Lowri Davies, who have trained throughout a harsh winter on the world’s feature and have come to know it very well. They’ll need to do their best to advance through the ranks, but don’t be surprised to see their names in the final.

Ireland’s best hope will be Aoife Hanrahan, chief organiser of Galway Fest, who won a bronze medal in Paris 2021. Never look past the competitive experience of USA’s Emily Jackson, and Germany will look to Anna Hubner and current junior champion Merle Hauser for their hopes of a medal.

The Juniors

Tim Rees. Germany’s bright hope for a medal, second at the Euros to Toby Marlow, who has since moved to seniors. Tim will be the bookie’s favourite for a gold medal in Nottingham, but it may be a more challenging fight than many anticipate. Japan’s Nanase Okazaki and GB’s Ben Higson have the moves to make up the gap.
If Ottie has the senior women’s category all but sewn up, team USA’s Abby Holcombe also has the juniors buttoned up. Having travelled to England three months before the event, she will be the favourite to win, but with a raft of British, Irish and German juniors closing the gap, can anybody stop her? 

Squirt Boating

Look to see USA’s downtime masters Clay Wright and Stephen Wright battle it out on and under the depths of the seam lines below the inlet gate. GB’s happiest paddler, Sam Wilson and GB’s Alex Edwards will also be in the mix. Can USA’s Rose Wall retain her title in the women’s squirt? Expect to see both Ottie and Hitomi battle it out for a medal spot.

C1

Keep your eyes on the women’s C1, for its debut on the world’s stage will bring many new faces to competition for the first time. Ottie Robinson Shaw will want to make it three gold medals!
In the men’s, Dane Jackson will want to reclaim his title from Tom Dolle, the Padawan to France’s long-time C1 expert Sebastian Devred after Tom bested him in Sort. But GB has hope in Matt Stephenson, Adam Ramadan and James Ibbotson. If the Euros are anything to go by, they will be well in the mix.

OC1

With no spraydecks, boats filling with water in a feisty hole… The biggest trick will win here; expect to see some big air, lots of spins and maybe a few swims…