POZNAN (Poland) – Hamish Lovemore once again leads a small national squad at the 2026 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Poznan, Poland, this week with the dual aim of winning medals and adding points to South Africa’s tally for Olympic qualification.
Lovemore has recently enjoyed a steady upward trajectory at international competition and has forced himself into the conversations about potential medallists at World Cups, World Championships, and the 2028 LA Olympics.
The 2026 World Championships, running from Wednesday to Sunday, comes with a significant weighting for Olympic qualification, which is based on results by country (not individual athletes) from April this year through to December 2027. For Lovemore and Esti Olivier, that adds to the significance of these World Championships, as the pair are looking more and more likely to be the only two South African paddlers in a realistic position to challenge for South African Olympic selection.
Lovemore in particular is truly building into a position where the OPEX-funded athlete could be considered a medal hopeful come LA28.
In 2025 at the World Championships in Italy, Lovemore finished second in the 5 000m event and missed out on the A Final. However, this year the 27-year-old from KZN has proved a medal is a possibility next year in Los Angeles with a two stunning World Cup results in May.
The Team Euro Steel paddler opened South Africa’s Olympic qualification journey with a place in the final of the 1 000m in the first World Cup in Szeged in Hungary in May. He finished ninth there and then a week later followed that up with second place for a silver medal in the same event at the Brandenburg World Cup in Germany.
Bronze Medals
At the same two regattas, he also collected a pair of bronze medals in the non-Olympic 5 000m events.
Olivier will be targetting the shorter races this week and hoping to secure places in the finals of the 200m and 500m events. At the two World Cups in May her best result was a spot in the 200m B Final in Szeged, while she added two C Finals in both events in Germany.
The third paddler in the small Paddlesport SA team this week is the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Bridgitte Hartley. The 43-year-old veteran will be tackling the 1 000m and 5 000m events with her best chance of success coming in the longer marathon-style race.
All three will be in action on the opening day with Lovemore and Hartley competing in their 1 000m heats, while Olivier’s opening-day action will be in the 500m heats. Her 200m heats take place on Thursday with both the men’s and women’s 5 000m events being straight finals on Sunday for Lovemore and Hartley respectively.
EVENTS
Esti Olivier: K1 200m; K1 500m
Bridgitte Hartley: K1 1 000m; K1 5 000m
Hamish Lovemore: K1 1 000m; K1 5 000m