WWR Championship Results.
The Sharks are officially the Wild Water racing Champions of London after sweeping up several top places in the recent London Regional WWR Championships held at Shepperton over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
The inugeral London Wild Water Racing Championships were part of a three day festival of canoeing hosted by The Sharks at Shepperton, which also included a Division 3 and Division 4 (entry level slalom) as well as a day of coached sessions to help develop grass roots paddling.
Women’s Classic K1 Championships
Becky Solway from Elmbridge Canoe Club won the Women’s Classic Race in a time of 5 minutes 30.2 seconds. Great to see paddlers from other disciplines taking part in River Racing. Well done Becky. look forward to your bringing a few more Elmbridge paddlers next year.
Second Place went to The Shark’s Jasmin Uhlhorn, racing in a slalom boat, with a time of 8:35.2, she also gets 1,328 Wavehopper Points along with her National Ranking Points. Jasmin is now ranked 26th in the UK and 6th in the Wavehopper Challenge.
Third place and first V65 went to Susan Templeton, also in a slalom boat, she collects 1,260 Wavehopper Points as well as National Ranking Points. Her time was 8:53.7. She is ranked 18th in the UK and top in the Wavehopper challenge.
New to River Racing, 4th over all and first J12 was The Shark’s own Anaya Dhillon, with a time of 11:15.30, her first time sitting in a Wild Water Racing Boat. Anaya first started paddling whilst at Three Bridges Primary School. Anaya is now ranked 25th in the UK.
Men’s Classic K1 Championships
George Durden’s time of 4:44.5 ensured it was an Elmbridge paddler who also took the Men’s Kayak prize. Well done George, please work at converting a few more of your fellow club paddlers.
Grant Underwood came second with a time of 5:58.8, giving him another 1,687 points to his season’s tally. Grant is now ranked 23rd in the UK.
In third place and first J16, was Lucas Baughan from Shepperton/Meridian, with a time of 6:31.3.
Veteran Neal Underwood came 4th over all and first V60, his time was 6:40.9. he collects 1,509 points, he is ranked 37th in the UK ad 4th M60.
Malcolm Blowers (Meridian CC) was 5th, racing in a Wavehopper, he gets both Wavehopper and 1,430 National Ranking points with his time of 6:59.60. He was also first V55.
First V65 and 6th over all was Shepperton‘s Antony Cowderoy with a time of 7:00.3.
New to competitive canoeing was Reuben Liu-Kientas, who is the first paddler from our Thamesmead project to enter a race, he came 7th over all racing in a slalom boat his time was 8:25.4, Reuben was first Under-12 paddler. He is ranked 128th in the UK and 9th J12, in the Wavehopper Challenge he is 43rd and 7th J12.
Ezikiel Maqbool, another new paddler became the Under-10 champion with a time of 12:47.9. He is now ranked 76th and third J10, in Wavehopper he is 17th and second J10.
Ryan Zoller was second under 10, also racing for the first time, he came through our P.E Lessons at Three Bridges Primary School in Southall. Now ranked 145th in the Uk and 4th J10, in Wavehopper he is 59th and third J10.
Men’s Classic C1 Champion
Shark Grant Underwood, took first place in the inaugural Canoe Singles event, his time was 9:52.7, he takes all 2,000 points up for grabs. Grant is now ranked 19th in the UK in C1.
Men’s Canoe Doubles Champions
Grant Underwood partnered with Neal Underwood and the pair became London Champions with a time of 8:08.9 and 2,000 points. The pair are currently ranked 15th in Men’s C2.
After the first day of racing Club points are:
| Pos. | Club | Points |
| 1st | The Sharks | 10,340 |
| 2nd | Elmbridge Canoe Club | 4,000 |
| 3rd | Meridian Canoe Club | 2,980 |
| 4th | Shepperton Slalom Canoe Club | 1,427 |
| 5th | Itchen Valley Canoe Club | 1,260 |
Women’s Sprint K1
This Year’s London Wild Water Sprint Champion is Ellie Grant from Salisbury Canoe Club, another person trying the discipline for the first time, hope to see you and more friends again soon. Ellie’s time was 1:20.4.
In second place was Susan Templeton, with a time of 1:35.5, racing in a slalom boat she gets 1,775 points for both Wavehopper and National Ranking. Susan was first V65.
Anaya Dhillon was third overall and first J12, her time was 1:49.3, she collects 1,569 points for bothNational Ranking and for Wavehopper..
Making her debut in canoe racing was Orla Kirk, at just 6-years-old, she completed the course in 4:46.5, she was the first Under 8.
Men’s K1 Sprint
In first place was Grant Underwood, with a time of 1:06.4, he adds 2,000 points to his tally for 2025.
In second place was Shepperton‘s Antony Cowderoy with a time of 1:18.5 and is also the first V65.
Taking bronze was Neal Underwood, also first V60, his time was 1:23.0, he earns 1,700 points.
Malcolm Blowers of Meridian was in 4th place with a time of 1:23.5
In 5th place and under-12 champions is Saalih Syed , his time of 1:42.6, gives him 1,346 points for both National Ranking and Wavehopper as he was in a slalom boat. Saalih is ranked 49th and second J12 in the UK, his Wavehopper position is 15th and 5th J12.
Abdullah Syed was in 6th place and Under 8 champion, he took 1:48.6 to complete the course in a slalom boat. He gets 1,237 points. Now ranked 57th and top J8 in Britain! He is 6th and top J8 in Wavehopper.
Ezikiel Maqbool was first under-ten, his time of 1:49.5 earns him 1,221 points. He is ranked 76th and second J10, with a Wavehopper ranking of 17th and second J10.
Abdurrahman Syed took second U10 prize, with a time of 1:49.8, collecting another 1,216 points, now ranked 52nd and top J10.
Second U12 was Maximilian Arbuzov, he collects 1,212 points. Max is now nationally ranked at 65th and 4th J12, with a Wavehopper Ranking of 13th and third J12
Sainsbury’s Gregory Grant collected his first ever points in Wild Water racing with a time of 1:26.6, don’t forget to spread the word and get other club members to join in the fun of River racing.
Conor Kirk made his debut and was second under 8, he had a time of 4:56.6
Mixed Canoe Doubles
Paddling together for the first time ever; Ezikiel Maqbool and Anaya Dhillon became the London Mixed Doubles champions, well done, they also earn 2,000 ranking points. They are now ranked 8th in Mixed C2 in the UK and top J12 crew.
Final Club Rankings for the London Championships
| Pos | Club | Points |
| 1st | The Sharks | 23,843 |
| 2nd | Meridian Canoe Club | 4,671 |
| 3rd | Elmbridge Canoe Club | 4,000 |
| 4th | Shepperton Slalom Canoe Club | 3,208 |
| 5th | Itchen Valley Canoe Club | 3,035 |
| 6th | Salisbury Canoe Club | 2,551 |
A very big thank you to everybody involved in hosting this event, to the time keepers, water safety boats, coaches and parents as well as the paddlers. We would also like to thank Shepperton Slalom Canoe Club for the loan of their facilities so we could stage this race.
The Sharks will be hosting the London Wild Water Racing championships again in 2026, please keep an eye on the Wild Water Racing Website for details of all races and look forward to seeing you next year.
Do you want to join London’s number one Wild Water Racing Team? no experience required, we provide all the kit, so no expensive outlay, why not find out more? Call or text on 07951 770241 or email wwr@thesharks.org.uk.
Published 31st May 2025