Young canoe hub Lukas Ramsayer inspires with World Cup qualification!

Young canoe hub Lukas Ramsayer inspires with World Cup qualification!

In Oberhausen, 15-year-old Lukas Ramsayer performed a remarkable performance that catapulted him into the world of canoe freestyle. On April 5, 2025, he managed to qualify for the World Championship in Freestyle-Kanu, which will take place in June of the same year in Plattling, Germany. With a total number of 148.33 points, Ramsayer secured first place in the U18 category of the World Cup qualification. He prevailed against strong competition, including Mads Barwich, who took second place with 146.67 points, and Tim Beck, who achieved third place with 60.00 points.

The qualification competitions took place at the Isar wave in Plattling, an internationally renowned location that is known due to its demanding conditions. The low water made it difficult to carry out tricks, which was also reflected in the athletes' scores. In the final, despite his solid performance, Ramsayer scored significantly fewer points than usual because the competitive conditions were not optimal.

challenges of the Isar wave

The Isar wave has proven to be a challenge for the athletes. Due to the low water level, there is a lack of the necessary pull to achieve higher points in the tricks carried out. This is particularly frustrating because bonus points for particularly high jumps are given in canoe freestyle. Nevertheless, Ramsayer decided to choose a safe tactic to master the challenges and secure his qualifications. He ended the prelets as third of a total of eight starters and was able to move into the final.

Ramsayer, who started at the European Championship in Graz in 2024 and took the 23rd place, has a lot of experience and plans to prepare for the upcoming competitions as best as possible. His trainer Quim Fontane, himself a former freestyle world champion, supports him in doing so, and Ramsayer plans to train a total of 100 times in Plattling.

The future in canoe freestyle

Lukas Ramsayer is looking forward to participating in the upcoming home world championship. His goal is to combine his tricks in a continuous run and to carry them out consistently. In addition, he plans to get into the whitewater season and take challenges such as driving on the Wellerbrücke route on the Ötztaler Ache.

The competitions in Plattling, which take place on Friday and Saturday, attract a large number of athletes. Over 70 participants will start in a total of 15 boat classes to demonstrate their skills in the art of canoe freestyle. The competitions begin at 8 a.m. and end with the finals on Saturday.

In addition, Ramsayer's family is also enthusiastic about the canoe freestyle. His younger brothers, Felix (13) and Simon (11), are active in this sport, but still too young to take part in a world championship. This shows how the passion for canoe freestyle is rooted in the Ramsayer family and inspires the next generations.

The Plattlinger Sohlschwelle, on which the competitions take place, is artistically designed and offers a wide roller that is an advantage for many freestyle athletes. The discipline itself has developed from the white water canoeing and is still relatively young. In competitions, athletes show figures such as twists, rollovers and jumps evaluated by referees. This combination of technology, creativity and speed makes canoe freestyle an exciting sport with growing international perspectives.