ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Championships have taken place every non-Olympic year since 1970 and officially included paracanoe events since 2010; since 2012, paracanoe-specific editions of this event (named ICF Paracanoe World Championships) have been held in Summer Paralympic years.
Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing.
Explanation of events.
Canoe sprint competitions are broken up into canoe (C), an open canoe with a single-blade paddle, or in kayaks (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. Each canoe or kayak can hold one person (1), two people (2), or four people (4). For each of the specific canoes or kayaks, such as a K-1 (kayak single), the competition distances can be , , , or long. When a competition is listed as a C-2 500 m event as an example, it means two people are in a canoe competing at a distance.
Paracanoe competitions are contested in either a va'a (V), an outrigger canoe (which includes a second pontoon) with a single-blade paddle, or in a kayak (as above). All international competitions are held over 200 metres in single-man boats, with three event classes in both types of vessel for men and women depending on the level of an athlete's impairment. The lower the classification number, the more severe the impairment is – for example, VL1 is a va'a competition for those with particularly severe impairments.
Summary.
 ICF Paracanoe World Championships (paracanoe events only)
Medal table.
This medal table includes all events except the paracanoe (formerly paddleability) and the exhibition events.<br>
The current historical medal count of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships as the 2019 championships is as follows: