Kneblova dominates women's canoe at ICF Worlds
Czechia's Tereza Kneblova cleared the field by an impressive 2.52 seconds to win the women's canoe final at the ICF Canoe Slalom Worlds with a time of 100.52.
Video Transcript
And with kayaks, you can paddle on both sides, but you have to be so much more precise and so controlled with these canoe strokes.
The women's C1 final is always a test of composure.
Yeah, Tereza Nebelova on the course now, so we get our first athlete coming down from the Czech Republic.
She'll be able to set an early time and hopefully hold onto that.
Ken, we'll see a lot of action out there.
We've got Evy Leibfarth from the United States coming in.
One surprise though, Jess Fox did not qualify for this race, but I saw a clip of her today wishing the rest of the athletes in the f- in the final, the best of luck, so.
Yeah, you can check that out on her Instagram.
But right now, back to the course, into gate seven.
Looking clean so far.
No penalties moving into this, and she will set the time as she is the first paddler in this division.
And again, just see how quickly she does those switches from the left to the right, wanting to be on the inside in the right paddle here.
And then we'll see if she stays on that right side or switches to the left as she goes in here.
So she's gonna spin, gonna stay on the right side.
Use that downstream stroke to try to really surf across this wave high.
Caught up a little bit, but able to fight in there relatively high into 14, so nice move there by Nebelova.
That little, tiny curler has created just enough problems for some of the paddlers.
Yeah, and that's one of those features on this river that actually surges.
It's inconsistent.
Sometimes it's a wave, sometimes it's a hole, so sometimes you just have to react to whatever happens.
That nice direct move from 16 to 17, so able to stay on the right side and just sneak her way up into the upstream.
So looking very solid, and so far penalty-free.
Yeah, 18 and 19 look pretty easy, but that's the setup coming into another big move.
This one is so challenging.
Come across once again through the foam pile.
Oh, and she does get hung up just a little bit on the edge of that foam pile coming into the next gate.
She rounds it cleanly, and once again, she continues to be penalty-free.
Watch her as she crosses the finish line, obviously in first place.
We'll see what her reaction is.
It was a good run, but will it be good enough to hold on?
A time of 100.52, so right at that 100-second barrier.
Some really pretty paddling in there, but you mentioned that sort of, that cross into the last gate when the wave just held her for the Right here, just holds her for one- Just a touch.
Yeah, just a sec, so time lost there.
But again, able to stay penalty-free, which is gonna be so critical, I think, in this women's C1.
Tereza Nebelova, world champion 2026.
How does it feel?
I, I can't speak right now.
I'm sorry, but it's unbelievable.
I cannot believe it.
I, I thought that I put down a solid run, but this is, like, a dream, dream come true, and I really, really thank to everybody who cheer for me.
It was, it's so, it's incredible.
Thank you.
And for those who don't know, this year with, with Tereza Nebelova is a bit of a story of a comeback.
Last year you didn't actually make the Czech team.
It was a surprise to all.
But this year the comeback is monumental.
You're a world champion.
Just talk to us about that journey.
Yeah, it was hard, but I think that, that setback, like, put me, really in a good position in training, and, I'm really glad that I managed to come back, and this is, this is a dream come true.
I don't know what to say.
Thank you.
The gold medalist and world champion, representing Czechia, Tereza Nebelova.
Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the national anthem of Czechia.
Ladies and gentlemen, please show recognition for the women's canoe medalists of the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships.
