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 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 have been held in Summer Paralympic years.
The 1938 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Vaxholm, Sweden, outside Stockholm, between 6–7 August 1938. This event was held under the auspices of the Internationale Repräsentantenschaft Kanusport (IRK), founded in 1924 and the forerunner of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in London, Great Britain. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation, formed in 1946 from the Internationale Repräsentantenschaft Kanusport (IRK).
The 1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1963 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Jajce, Yugoslavia. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1971 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
The 1973 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Tampere, Finland.
The 1977 Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The 1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mechelen, Belgium.
The 1986 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada at the Notre Dame Island. This is also where the canoeing and rowing competitions for the 1976 Summer Olympics took place.
The 1989 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The 1990 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland on Lake Malta.
The 1994 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mexico City, Mexico for the second time at neighboring Xochimilco. The Mexican city had hosted the event previously in 1974 at the same venue that hosted the canoeing and rowing competitions for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The 1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Lake Banook.
The 2001 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland at Lake Malta. The Polish city had hosted the event previously in 1990.
The 2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Seville, Spain.
Tamás Buday is a Canadian sprint canoe coach and retired Hungarian sprint canoer. He competed in doubles at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and won two bronze medals in 1976. He also won thirteen medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with four gold, five silvers, and four bronzes.
Ion Bîrlǎdeanu is a retired Romanian sprint kayaker. He won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m event at the 1980 Olympics, placing sixth in the doubles. He also won seven medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold, five silvers, and one bronze.
Philippe Boccara is a French-born American sprint kayaker who competed from the late 1970s to the early 2000s (decade). He appeared in six Olympics for France and the United States.
Grayson Bourne is a British sprint canoer who competed from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. He won two medals in the K-2 10000 m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold (1990) and a silver.
Josef Holeček (TCH)
Robert Boutigny (FRA)
Bengt Backlund (SWE)
Sylvi Saimo (FIN)
Karen Hoff (DEN)
Fritzi Schwingl (AUT)