Bassett strikes World Championship bronze

Australia has claimed its first medal of the ICF Slalom World Championships Sydney 2025 after Kaylen Bassett delivered the performance of a lifetime to secure his bronze in the men’s canoe (C1).

Ranked eighth after the semi-finals, Bassett – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder – unleashed a show stopping run, making the most of a home crowd advantage at Penrith’s Whitewater Stadium.

Battling winds that disrupted the field, Bassett [ below with his brother, Lachlan] capitalised on the home course advantage to produce a flawless run – beaten only by Olympic champion Nicolas Gestin (FRA) and Ryan Westley (GBR).

Before today’s breakthrough, Bassett’s best result at a senior world championship was 39th.

“I’m shocked. I don’t believe it, still,” Bassett said. “I feel like I’m still waiting for someone else to come down the course, to be honest, but I think it’s going to hit me very, very soon.

“I’ve had a really good season so far. I’ve made three out of four finals at the World Cups that I was racing at, but racing in the finals had kind of been this next step that I was trying to overcome and to do it here in front of a home crowd, home course, friends, family, it couldn’t have come at a better time and this is a day I’ve got to remember for sure.”

Klaudia Zwolinska (POL) claimed gold in the women’s C1, while Alsu Minazova (AIN) claimed silver and Ana Satila (BRA) snagged bronze.

Despite being one of only three athletes to deliver a clean run in the final, Australia’s Noemie Fox, a NSWIS athlete, was more than eight seconds off the pace, and she finished ninth in the overall standings.

Competition continues Friday with the men’s and women’s kayak (K1) finals with action getting underway from 10:30am AEST.

Paddle Australia

Main photo: JGR Images

Photo of Kaylen with his brother, Lachlan, courtesy of Channel Nine