Wildwater canoeing is a competitive discipline of canoeing in which kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a stretch of river speedily. It is also called "Whitewater racing" or "Downriver racing" to distinguish it from whitewater slalom racing and whitewater rodeo or Freestyle competition.
Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Congress in Rome.
The Savage River is a 29.5-mile-long (47.5 km) river in Garrett County, Maryland, and is the first major tributary of the North Branch Potomac River from its source. The river was named for 18th century surveyor John Savage.
A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or narrow the canoe is, although regularly the less contact a canoe has with the water the faster it goes. This makes the narrower boats much faster and popular when it comes to racing.
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 1987 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, West Germany for the second time. The West German city hosted the championships previously in 1979.
The 1977 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Spittal, Austria under the auspices of International Canoe Federation for the record setting third time. It was the 15th edition. Spittal hosted the championships previously in 1963 and 1965. A record ten countries won medals at these championships, including the first for Australia.
The 1979 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the 16th edition. This marked the first time the championships were held outside Europe. The mixed C2 event was not held at these championships. East Germany did not take part and Czechoslovakia, as the other traditional powerhouse, won only one medal. West Germany won three medals while the United States led the medal count with seven, the first-time an English-speaking country had done so.
The 1995 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Nottingham, United Kingdom under the auspices of International Canoe Federation at the Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre. It was the 24th edition. Nottingham became the first city to host the canoe slalom and canoe sprint world championships, having hosted the sprint championships previously in 1981.
The 1997 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Três Coroas, Brazil under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the 25th edition. It was the first time the championships were held in South America.
The 2006 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Prague, Czech Republic between 2-6 August 2006 under the auspices of International Canoe Federation at the Prague-Troja Canoeing Centre. It was the 30th edition. Prague became the second city to host both the slalom and sprint world championships, having hosted the latter in 1958 when Prague was part of Czechoslovakia. Nottingham, Great Britain was the first, hosting the slalom world championships in 1995 and the sprint world championships in 1981.
ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships is an International Canoe Federation competition in canoe marathon in which athletes compete over long distances. The race usually starts and ends at the same place, and includes portages. Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. In a kayak, the paddler is seated in the direction of travel, and uses a double-bladed paddle. In a canoe the paddler kneels on one knee with the other leg forward and foot flat on the floor inside the boat, and paddles a single-bladed paddle on one side only. The World Championships were held every two years from 1988, becoming annual in 1998.
The 2017 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships was the 38th edition of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. The event took place from 22 September to 1 October 2017 in Pau, France under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF) at the Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater Stadium. Pau was also hosting the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships as part of the same event.
The ICF World Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom Championships are an annual international canoeing and kayaking event organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). The Junior World Championships were first held in 1986 and then every two years until 2012. The Under-23 category has been added to the program in 2012. Since then the championships have been held annually. Athletes under the age of 18 are eligible for the junior category.
The Wildwater Canoeing World Championships are an international event in canoeing organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every two years from 1959 to 1995 and then from 1996 to 2001, from 2011 the event is annual.
Jon Lugbill (USA)
Thierry Humeau (FRA)
Yugoslavia 
West Germany 
Czechoslovakia 
Richard Fox (GBR)
Italy 