Jacqueline Kennedy has claimed New Zealand’s first junior world title in canoe sprint, winning gold in the Junior Women’s K1 500m at the 2026 ICF Junior & U23 World Championships in Halifax, Canada. The result caps off one of the country’s strongest Junior and U23 campaigns on the world stage.
Kennedy’s victory stands out in a team performance that delivered results across multiple boat classes. The Junior Women’s K4 of Kennedy, Stella Crossan, Alexis Toy and Taylor Newman finished fourth, while Crossan and Toy combined for seventh in the K2 500m. Taylor Newman also competed in the Junior Women’s K1 200m, placing ninth.
On the U23 side, Thomas MacGibbon made the final in the U23 Men’s K1 200m, finishing seventh, while Natasha MacGibbon posted eighth in the U23 Women’s K1 1000m. Madison Garrett and Olive Pearce secured eighth in the U23 Women’s K2 500m, and the U23 Men’s K4 of Dylan Monk, Tiago Chamberlain, Sam Lees and Reid Clancy finished ninth.
The team fielded competitors across sprint distances from 200m to 1000m, with junior men’s pairing Lachlan Harkness and Oliver Hutchinson reaching the K2 500m final in tenth place. Harkness also competed in the Junior Men’s K1 1000m, finishing 16th.
Coaches Emily Willock and Leigh Barker, along with team manager Steve Vaughan, orchestrated the campaign that saw New Zealand athletes testing themselves against the world’s best junior and emerging senior paddlers. The results suggest a pipeline of talent continuing to develop within New Zealand’s canoe racing programme.
