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The Olympics are coming to Oklahoma City. We all know that by now, but has it really hit you? This week, the abstract will become concrete — just like the labyrinth of channels at Riversport OKC with its millions of gallons of raging water.
Oklahoma City’s whitewater center will host the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships from July 20 to 25 — a six-day event that will feature 256 athletes from 50 countries across five continents. Most importantly, these World Championships are the first major qualification event for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Athletes will be navigating the same course they hope to return to two summers from now as Olympians.
If you want a preview of what’s to come in 2028, this is your chance. And you can get a one-day pass for $6. (Olympic ticket prices are slightly north of that).
More: Here's who to watch at the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
“We’ve been working to make this a paddlesport capital for 20 years,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt told The Oklahoman. “If we didn’t have the Olympics to look forward to and this was the crowning achievement — that we were having the World Championships — what a moment that would be for our city … and it’s only because we have the Olympics that it’s slightly overshadowed.”
Hosting the Canoe Slalom World Championships, any world championship, is a big deal. A feat nobody could’ve realistically expected when voters approved the MAPS 3 project back in 2009.
“It’s a very historic moment for the city,” Holt said. “It should be huge validation for everybody who’s contributed to the progress at the river, the progress at Riversport.”
The World Championship field is twice as large as that of the Olympics, which will feature fewer than 100 athletes. More countries will be represented this week in OKC than in the 2028 games.
Eleven Americans will be competing, including North Carolina’s Evy Leibfarth — a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Games.
More: Meet the Team USA canoe star working a construction job to fund his Olympic dream
The paddlers will range in age from 14 to 48.
Oklahoma City is a year removed from hosting the NBA Finals and two years away from hosting canoe slalom and softball in the Olympics, but this week will mark the first time we’ve ever hosted a world championship for an Olympic sport.
The Canoe Slalom World Championships are contested annually in non-Olympic years. This is the first in the U.S. since 2014.
Since then the event has been hosted in metropolises like London and Rio De Janeiro. In ancient cities like Bratislava, Slovakia, and Augsburg, Germany.
And now the world is coming to Oklahoma City.
If that reality hasn’t hit you yet, it will this week.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
What: More than 300 athletes hailing from 50 nations will compete for world titles in canoe slalom (C1), kayak slalom (K1) and kayak cross
When: Monday-Saturday
Where: Riversport OKC
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships will be nice Olympic tune-up for OKC
Continue reading...
Oklahoma City’s whitewater center will host the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships from July 20 to 25 — a six-day event that will feature 256 athletes from 50 countries across five continents. Most importantly, these World Championships are the first major qualification event for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Athletes will be navigating the same course they hope to return to two summers from now as Olympians.
If you want a preview of what’s to come in 2028, this is your chance. And you can get a one-day pass for $6. (Olympic ticket prices are slightly north of that).
More: Here's who to watch at the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
“We’ve been working to make this a paddlesport capital for 20 years,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt told The Oklahoman. “If we didn’t have the Olympics to look forward to and this was the crowning achievement — that we were having the World Championships — what a moment that would be for our city … and it’s only because we have the Olympics that it’s slightly overshadowed.”
Hosting the Canoe Slalom World Championships, any world championship, is a big deal. A feat nobody could’ve realistically expected when voters approved the MAPS 3 project back in 2009.
“It’s a very historic moment for the city,” Holt said. “It should be huge validation for everybody who’s contributed to the progress at the river, the progress at Riversport.”
The World Championship field is twice as large as that of the Olympics, which will feature fewer than 100 athletes. More countries will be represented this week in OKC than in the 2028 games.
Eleven Americans will be competing, including North Carolina’s Evy Leibfarth — a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Games.
More: Meet the Team USA canoe star working a construction job to fund his Olympic dream
You must be registered for see images
The paddlers will range in age from 14 to 48.
Oklahoma City is a year removed from hosting the NBA Finals and two years away from hosting canoe slalom and softball in the Olympics, but this week will mark the first time we’ve ever hosted a world championship for an Olympic sport.
The Canoe Slalom World Championships are contested annually in non-Olympic years. This is the first in the U.S. since 2014.
Since then the event has been hosted in metropolises like London and Rio De Janeiro. In ancient cities like Bratislava, Slovakia, and Augsburg, Germany.
And now the world is coming to Oklahoma City.
If that reality hasn’t hit you yet, it will this week.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
You must be registered for see images
ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
What: More than 300 athletes hailing from 50 nations will compete for world titles in canoe slalom (C1), kayak slalom (K1) and kayak cross
When: Monday-Saturday
Where: Riversport OKC
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships will be nice Olympic tune-up for OKC
Continue reading...
