Congratulations to Mana Kayak Club’s Emma Kemp, who will be representing New Zealand in Canoe Marathon at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China in August.
The World Games, running from the 6th-17th August, is a multi-sport event for sports and disciplines that are not in the programme of the Olympic Games. This event, which runs only every 4 years, has become the second-most important global multi-sport event in the world and for many athletes who compete in non-Olympic disciplines, the World Games is pinnacle event of their sporting career.
Emma secured New Zealand a woman’s quota spot for the World Games Canoe Marathon event at the 2024 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships and locked in her CRNZ selection with a dominant victory at selection event in Hawkes Bay in June.
She will be racing in both the K1 Short Course marathon race on Saturday 9th August and the K1 long course marathon event on Sunday 10th August.
Emma Kemp has been the dominant female marathon and flatwater distance athlete in Aotearoa for the last few years, with highlights including a 5th place in the Open WK1 5000m at the 2024 ICF Canoe Sprint World Champs, 4th place in the U23 WK1 5000m World Champs in 2023 and 14th open women at the 2024 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships, to name a few.
The World Games is just the start of a busy period of international events for Emma, who will also compete at the 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Italy and the 2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Hungary.
We wish Emma all the best for her travels and look forward to following her on her international campaign.
Stay tuned to CRNZ Facebook or Instagram for updates on all the action and results this international kayaking season.
