How athletes battled the heat at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
· Yahoo Sports
A 14-foot drop, 360-degree roll and boat-to-boat contact with three other paddlers are all part of what international kayak cross competitors are used to.
In Oklahoma, however, the 100-degree heat adds a whole other factor on race day.
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The sixth and final day of the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at Riversport OKC tested the athletes with both the physical demands of the kayak cross and Oklahoma’s relentless summer heat.
Several stars in the discipline, including individual kayak cross gold medalists Joseph Clarke and Jessica Fox, were eliminated before the final.
After three straight weeks of training and competing in Oklahoma’s three-digit temperatures, Fox finished 13th on Saturday.
“I think the heat has been really challenging for everyone,” Jessica Fox said. “Having a bit more shade would be helpful.”
It also didn't help that kayak cross, the most physically demanding discipline, came after Fox had competed every day of the week in all three events: canoe slalom, kayak slalom and kayak cross.
“We got some good information on what we need to do better next time,” Fox said.
Fox plans to wear shoes to avoid burning her feet on the bridge, which happened more than once this week. Her teammate, Merle Long, finished sixth in the men’s race and also missed the heat memo.
“I just missed out on the Amazon order for an ice vest,” Long said. “So next time, if I'm here for the Olympics in 2028, you'll definitely see me with one on.”
Many of the European athletes wore ice vests under their life jackets to stay cool even as the water temperature reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cold plunges, electrolyte drinks and even a slushie machine in the players’ lounge all helped athletes recover between races. At the world championships, paddlers can race in as many as six knockout rounds on the final day of kayak cross, with breaks ranging from just 10 minutes to two hours.
“So the heat definitely becomes a factor,” Long said.
Some athletes arrived prepared by incorporating heat training before traveling to Oklahoma City.
“Before we came here to Oklahoma, we were running in a hoodie and long pants which I think worked pretty good,” Jakub Krejci from the Czech Republic said. “It’s not bad. I expected much worse.”
Those training sessions may have played a major role for his teammate, Vit Prindis from Czech Republic, to go on and win the men’s kayak cross title on Saturday afternoon. On the women’s side, Alena Marx from Switzerland walked away with the gold.
With the world championships complete, athletes and Riversport OKC have two more years to prepare for the Oklahoman summer heat once again as canoe slalom returns to the venue for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Amanda Avila is a sports intern for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Amanda? She can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @avilaonair. Support Amanda's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How athletes battled the heat at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships