Lois Leaver will have her eye on more than one piece of silverware when she arrives in Oklahoma City for the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships this July with brother Sam. The Edinburgh paddler will aim to follow a scintillating 2025 season that saw her win nine medals across senior and U23 competitions, with a place in the World Championships finals.
But there will be the added incentive of friendly competition with her younger sibling, who also travels to the USA’s southern state to compete on the world stage, with their own metaphorical silverware on the line.
“Last year we had a bit of a competition and whoever had the most recent medal had the ‘Leaver Cup,’” explained the 24-year-old elder sibling. “We have a pretty good relationship. We live with each other so going away to races we probably see each other less than we do when we're at home, but we are supportive of each other. We train together sometimes when it works and we chat to each other about things that we think each other could improve on. In Oklahoma, I'd really like to be in the final, but I’ve been trying a lot this year to put the success of the race down to how I paddle. If I paddle to my style and how I want to deliver it, then that's a win.”
Leaver, who competes in K1 and Kayak Cross, won gold in the latter at the Augsburg World Cup last year and added a European Championship bronze in the K1 team event among a host of medals. But after being diagnosed with appendicitis in January, her 2026 season started with emergency surgery rather than being able to carry that form straight into the new season.
“I was away in France so had surgery there. I had three incisions in my lower stomach, so I spent some time at home in Edinburgh and then slowly eased back in with some core exercises,” said Leaver. “Once I got the stitches out it was onwards and upwards and by the end of four weeks, I was back to field training, but it was tough. I missed our warm weather training camp. I went out there, but I couldn't really do much training while we were there. It was much more rehab and I missed a big physical block that we were planning. Then by the time we were back in the UK it was getting close to pre-season races. But in the grand scheme of things, it was a bit more of a psychological test.”
But having passed that test, Leaver is back into the swing of things on the water, reaching the K1 final at the Prague World Cup to finish eighth and placing sixth in the KX time trial at the same competition. Now, she is trying to keep the same freedom that brought so much success last year, as she targets yet another final appearance on an even bigger stage in Oklahoma.
“Going into last season, I didn't really have much or any expectations of myself,” she said. “I just wanted to be in the finals so getting to that point and being in the finals then felt like I was free. I could really go out and race without holding onto anything. Now, it's trying to come back to why I do the sport, getting the enjoyment out of it and trying not to almost place too much emphasis on the outcomes of the races. I feel like once you've proved to yourself that you can do it once and get into the finals it's loads easier to be able to do it again.”
