Canoe Marathon World Championships Report
The 2026 Paddle Worldwide Canoe Marathon World Championships too place in Gualeguaychú, Argentina from the 21st -> 24th October. A team of 6 Junior and U23 Athletes from Salmon Leap Canoe club in Leixlip, travelled to race against the Worlds best. After more than a 30 hour journey the team arrived to a warm welcome in Gualeguaychú, a small city of approximately 80,000 people that sits about 200km North of Buenos Aires. Over the course of the week the team were treated like celebrities, signing autographs, posing in pictures & giving interviews each time they left the athletes area. The event opened with a spectacular Carnival themed opening ceremony which showcased all the fun and flair of this town through its street which were lined with locals who cheered on every team in the parade. When the racing got underway athletes had to battle with very high river levels and a flexible schedule with thunderstorms causing events from Wednesday evening to be postponed on short notice and added into a compressed schedule over the following days.
In the Junior Women’s category, 15-year-old Caoilin Caffrey hoped to add to her tally of a European Silver & Gold from June but had a disappointing short course final after qualifying from the heats with the 3rd fastest time. In the final Caoilin was knocked into the water on the opening lap, ending her chances of a podium. In the 19km long course race which ran over a lapped course with 4 portages, where ethe paddlers jump from their boats and run along the bank before re-entering the water, Caoilin had a strong showing. She stayed with the lead pack through the 1st half of the race before it split in 2. Caoilin finished strong, out sprinting the South African & Spanish athletes to finish 5th in the World. A great achievement for a paddler with 3 years remaining in the Junior category. In the Junior Men’s category, Sean Butterly hoped to defend his long course Gold medal from 2025 while Sean Smyth looked to build on his 4th place in the European Championships in June. Both paddlers had a strong showing in short course, established in the lead group through the early part of the race but as it progressed the 2 Irish athletes fell off and finished with Butterly in 6th place and Smyth in 12th. In the long course race both Irish again got off to a strong start with the lead group. Unfortunately, Butterly received a 15 second penalty of r missing a buoy on the opening lap and this proved costly. It dropped him for the lead group when the penalty was served at the 1st portage, just under 8km into the 23km race. Once the gap was there, it proved too difficult to close and Butterly finished in 7th place. Smyth won out a sprint finish against the Belgian paddler to crack the top 10.
In the U23 races Ireland was represented by Lucy Cullen in the Women’s race & by Daibhí Reynolds and Paul Donnellan in the Men’s. Cullen showed a gutsy performance to battle through illness throughout the race and finish in 13th position in her first year out of the Junior ranks. In the Men’s field Reynolds recovered from a poor start, where the start signal could not be heard by half the field, to come through the 27-boat field to finish 12th, less than 3 minutes behind the winner over the 26.5km course in his first experience of championship racing. Donnellan had a tough race with a shoulder injury which was being nursed in the weeks leading up to the championships, flaring up during the race. He gutted it out to finish up in 19th position. Both U23 Men were also due to race in the Senior Men’s race to gain experience. Unfortunately, Donnellan had to withdraw with his shoulder injury. Reynolds got off to a flier of a start, featuring in the top 5 of the lead group through the 1st few KM, while racing against the top senior Men in the World. He showed great grit and determination to keep with many fresher athletes who had not raced the previous day and finished the 30km race in an excellent 17th position out of the 29-boat field. A great result and valuable experience gained for the 19-year-old.
In the final day of competition, the focus shifted to the doubles with Ireland racing in the Junior Men and Senior Women K2 races. Caffrey and Cullen teamed up, making them by far the youngest crew in the Senior Women’s field with a combined age of 34 being younger than several of the athletes racing in other crew boats. They got off to a great start in the 26.5km race, fighting their way through the waves to the tail of the lead group but as the group broke up with the lead crew increasing the pace, the Irish crew ended up in a head to head battle with the British crew for the next 22km. In the end the Irish won out in a head to head sprint to the finish line finishing 12th in their first senior race, beating out some strong crews from Denmark and Great Britain. In the Junior Boys K2 race the Sean’s teamed up, making a formidable crew that led most of the opening 8km. At the first portage, the fell behind and settled into a chase pack with the French, Spanish and hometown Argentinian boats. Butterly who had been extremely unwell in the lead up to the race gutted it out to help get the boat over the finish line in 6th place. Unfortunately, a 15 sec penalty for a missed buoy on the last turn as a result of impaired vision caused by illness dropped them back 2 places to 8th position.
Overall, the team had some great results with a lot of gutsy performances & lots of valuable experience gained for the young team, many of which have a number of years left in their age categories. Argentina was very kind to everyone and made every team member feel special. The team left with many great memories both on and off the water with the atmosphere of the huge crowds who turned out to cheer on every athlete, outdoing anything seen before at Marathon Worlds. Roll on Silkeborg, Denmark for the 2027 Canoe Marathon World Championships!
