adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship celebrates 10th anniversary in Austria's Ötztal (AUT), 05. - 07. October 2017

Despite the international field of competitors, the World Championship title was handed round among five nations only. In the men’s category, six athletes claimed all gold medals. Germany’s Thilo Schmitt triumphed in the inaugural race in 2008; Olympic Champion Alexander Grimm surprisingly beat the renowned extreme paddlers from around the world in 2009. In the years 2010-2012, Kiwi Sam Sutton dominated the field, the only athlete to ever achieve a hattrick in this race.

Since 2015, when the number of female participants exceeded 20 for the first time, the event also hosts a female World Championship. Norway’s Mariann Saether won the first gold medal, Sandra Hyslop from the UK won the title last year, defending the honour of the British team that always returned home with a medal since 2013.