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Aussies Battle Hard at Canoe Slalom World Cup 4

Paddle Australia

With just four weeks until the 2025 ICF Slalom World Championships in Penrith, the Australian Canoe Slalom team hit the water in Tacen, Slovenia over the weekend for World Cup 4.

It was a big three days of racing against the world’s best, with our Aussies showing grit and determination across the Kayak, Canoe and Kayak Cross events.

Day 1: Kayak

Racing got underway on Friday with the men’s and women’s Kayak heats. Olympic Champion Noemie Fox led the way, progressing through to the finals and finishing in 12th position after a challenging run. She was joined in the women’s heats by Sarah Crosbee (31st) and Georgie O’Callaghan (36th), while on the men’s side Ben Pope (34th), Riley Galea (45th) and New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Dominic Curtin (48th) fought hard in a competitive field.

Day 2: Canoe

Saturday brought more excitement as Fox backed up with another finals appearance, finishing a strong 5th in the women’s C1. NSWIS athlete Kaylen Bassett also made his mark, qualifying for the men’s C1 final and claiming 9th place. Georgie O’Callaghan (27th), Ben Ross (29th) and George Pankhurst (37th) rounded out the Aussie contingent.

Day 3: Kayak Cross

The action wrapped up on Sunday with Kayak Cross, and plenty of Aussie representation across the heats. Georgie O’Callaghan (22nd), Sarah Crosbee (33rd) and Olympic Champion and NSWIS scholarship holder Noemie Fox (40th) all put in solid runs, while in the men’s field Ben Pope impressed with an 8th-place finish after progressing through to the semi-final. Dominic Curtin also pushed into the quarter-finals to place 12th, with Merle Long finishing 30th.

With valuable racing experience gained in Slovenia, the team now turn their attention to the final stop of the World Cup circuit.

The Aussies will be back in action at the World Cup Final in Augsburg, Germany from 4–7 September, before shifting focus to a historic home World Championships in Penrith later this month.

For full results from World Cup 4 – click here