Hamish Lavmore from South Africa won his first individual senior world championship title on Friday, October 23, 2026. He secured victory in the men's K1 sprint at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships held in Guaileguaychú, Argentina.
Lavmore's victory was historic, despite reports from his team that he lacked necessary equipment until the day before the final due to travel delays. Baggage issues with the airline delayed the arrival of his individual seat and footrest, forcing him to participate in preliminary heats using a temporary, unfamiliar setup.
The missing parts arrived late on Thursday. Lavmore installed the mounts on Friday morning before testing the boat during a short warm-up before the race. He noted: 'Not having my usual setup made qualifying uncomfortable, but once the equipment was back in place, I could fully concentrate on the race plan.'
Lavmore stated: 'Finishing ahead of Mads and Fernando at this stage is a huge achievement, especially after the equipment disappointment before the races.' He crossed the finish line in 11:20.92, beating Mads Brandt Petersen of Denmark by 2.54 seconds (11:23.46) and defending champion Fernando Pimentu of Portugal by 3.53 seconds (11:24.45).
Men's K1 Sprint Results
South Africa earned its second medal on opening day thanks to Georgia Singh, who won bronze in the women's U23 K1 distance event. After the race, Singh said that the difficult start forced her to fight back from a trailing position to secure a spot on the podium.
Singh shared: 'It was definitely not easy. I was worried at the start because I was behind, but I knew from home training that I had perseverance, so I just pushed forward as hard as I could into the top three.'
After breaking away from the leading group of four paddlers, Singh skillfully managed her position in the final stages, ensuring her place among the top three. Singh completed the six-lap course with five ports in 1:47:32.93, finishing behind Roana Svecova of Slovakia (1:47:26.19) and Sophie Hansen of Denmark (1:47:32.04).
Women's U23 K1 Results
For Lavmore, the sprint victory complements his international resume with a prestigious senior marathon title. The paddler from KwaZulu-Natal previously won the U23 world championship title in 2019 and secured a gold medal in the men's K2 world championship with Andy Birkett in Ponta Delima in 2022.