Athletes compete at the 2026 Hangzhou Super Cup and Dragon Boat World Championships. [Photo/Hangzhou Daily]

China claimed nine gold medals, one silver, and four bronze medals at the 2026 Hangzhou Super Cup and Dragon Boat World Championships, which concluded on Oct 3 at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

More than 1,200 athletes from 42 countries and regions competed over four days at the venue along the Fuchun River. The event featured 22 national teams and marked the first time the World Paddle Sports Dragon Boat World Championships had been held in mainland China.

China dominated the dragon boat competition, claiming seven gold medals from nine events. Hangzhou athlete Fan Yiting was among the standout performers, winning gold in all six events she entered. She said competing at home gave the team an opportunity to showcase Chinese dragon boat culture while measuring itself against the world's best.

Olympic champion Sun Mengya won the women's canoe 500-meter sprint, while Wu Shengyue also secured a canoeing gold. Hangzhou paddler Yu Shimeng took bronze in the women's kayak 500m, while Zhejiang athletes Ji Bowen and Ma Yanan won bronze in the mixed 5,000m canoe sprint relay.

The Hangzhou Super Cup also introduced a head-to-head format in canoe slalom, with two athletes racing simultaneously on parallel courses. More than 300 amateur paddlers competed in a mass paddleboard race, the first such event at a top-level World Paddle Sports event.