All is set for the Canoe Sprint World Championships, which will bring around 1,400 athletes from 75 nations to the waters of Milan’s Idroscalo from Wednesday 20 to Sunday 24 August.

Twenty-four world titles will be contested, including all 16 Olympic events, in what marks the first global championship of the new Olympic cycle building towards Los Angeles 2028. The action will be formally launched on Tuesday 19 at 18:30 with the opening ceremony, attended by CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio.

For the Italian team, it promises to be five days of intense competition. The Azzurri squad (pictured, FICK) features 20 boats — 12 men’s and eight women’s crews. Wednesday’s programme is devoted entirely to heats across the 200m, 500m and 1000m distances, with further qualifying races continuing into Thursday, when the first semi-finals will also take place.

The opening finals, awarding medals over 200m and 500m, are scheduled for Friday 22 August. From the afternoon of Saturday 23, the focus turns exclusively to medal races, culminating with the 5000m events that will close the regatta on Sunday 24.