John Gregory | @gregiej | Sportscene - The 2015 season was the defining point in determining which nations qualified spots for Rio; so 2015 canoe slalom season in 3 words would be Rio Spots Qualified. As we speak the top athletes are in Brazil testing the new Aquece Rio course.

Here is a more detailed round-up of the 2015 season with photos showing raw emotion taken by Neil Proctor on the finish line at Lee Valley.

Athletes reflection on 2015 in 3 words
Partly for fun we challenged the athletes to sum up their 2015 in just three words. Here is what they had to say.

• “World Champion Again” – David Florence (GBR)
• “Best season ever!” – Jiri Prskavec (CZE)
• “Bronze, next Gold!” – Michal Smolen (USA)
• “Best season, yet!!!” – Casey Eichfeld (USA)
• “Thank you America!” – Ben Hayward (CAN)
• “Too much touch” - Alexander Slafkovsky (SVK)
• “Too many touches!!” - Richard Hounslow (GBR)
• “Fast, sad, funny” – Vavra Hradilek (CZE)
• “Not bad but….” – Stepanka Hilgertova (CZE)

• “Intense, challenging, rewarding” – Fiona Pennie (GBR)
• “Exciting, educational, fun” – Rici Funk (GER)
• “Injured me, new me, old me” - Peter Kauzer (SLO)
• “Exciting, challenging and motivating” – Corinna Kuhnle (AUT)
• “Cleaner, consistent, close!” – Jess Fox (AUS)
• “Roller-coaster, buzzing, long” – Kimberley Woods (GBR)
• “Inspiring, emotional, exciting – Viki Wolffhardt (AUT)
• “Challenging, exciting, enjoyable” – Eilidh Gibson (GBR)
• “Positive, frustrating, long” – Joe Clarke (GBR)
• “Tough, rewarding, painful – Mallory Franklin (GBR)
• “Where's my mojo?” – Ros Lawrence (AUS)
• “Ousadia, alegria, experiencia” [boldness, bliss, experience] - Pepe Goncalves (BRA)
• “I love C2” – Gauthier Klauss (FRA)

Overall 2015 Medals

Click here to see the overall medal table from 2015 individual classes at World Cup and World Championships.

France again had the most medals as they had in 2014. The Czech Republic went from 10th to 1st. Uncharacteristically, Germany had a subdued World Cup series and more medals at Worlds. The medals above in the individual classes i.e. excluding teams, were spread across 14 national federations compared to 13 in the previous year.

2015 Race Winners Summary

Click here to see the consolidated summary table of key race winners (correct as of Nov 20 2015).

“World Champion Again” – David Florence (GBR)

C1M
We saw a different C1M winner in each major race or series this year emphasizing that no one dominates this class. The Slovakian team were nevertheless victorious in winning C1M Team at Lee Valley Worlds. Slovakian Olympic team selection is too close to call.

After disappointment at the Deep Creek Worlds, David Florence (GBR) demonstrated why he came to the Lee Valley Worlds as World no. 1 to win his second World Championship title. 22-year old fellow Brit, Ryan Westley secured his best ever race result with a podium at the Lee Valley Worlds to become the top ranked U23 C1M.

There was only one appearance of 2014 World Champion Fabien Lefevre (USA) who made the final at the last World Cup race in Pau.

C1W
At the Lee Valley Worlds Jess Fox (AS) stamped some authority on C1W with her third successive Senior Worlds title. Fox was the most consistent athlete in any class in 2015 and made the final at every race. That said, 2015 did not go all her way and the exciting Nuria Vilarrubla (ESP) took the U23 Worlds title at the beginning of the season.

Vibes from the ICF still suggest that C1W can be expected to be an Olympic class in Tokyo, although the decision does not need to be ratified until after Rio.

“Best season ever!” – Jiri Prskavec (CZE)

K1M
The Czech men have long been sensational to watch in K1M and Jiri Prskavec (CZE) was on spectacular form in 2015, with a Senior Worlds, U23 Worlds, U23 Europeans and home World Cup 1 race wins. It is amazing for those of us involved in the Nottingham 1995 Worlds where Jiri Prskavec Senior won bronze.

Whatever the reasons, some key judging decision had a dramatic impact on the overall K1M season standings.

22- year old Michal Smolen (USA) was ecstatic about his World’s bronze at Lee valley and after his Pan Am win in Minden over the summer this medal also created an Olympic qualification spot in K1M for Canada – hence Ben Hayward’s three words above.

It was exciting to see the such a high class field with 2 Olympic Champions and 4 World Champions competing. Among the World Champions, Peter Kauzer (SLO) back from injury was strong again and secured the World Cup series title.

K1W
An exciting year in K1W, new World Champion Katerina Kudejova (CZE), Senior European Champion Maialen Chourraut (ESP), Jazmyne Dellhollander (CAN) winning the 1st Pan Am canoe slalom championships. Emilie Fer (FRA) looked back on form and took a World Cup final win on her home course.

Jess Fox (AUS) become ICF Ranked World No. 1 and retained it through the season despite not winning Worlds or World Cup series. “I had more clean runs this year and was consistently faster. I was so close to that podium... Next time”, Fox added

Former Word Champion and 2015 Liptovsky World Cup winner Jana Dukatova (SVK) said; “The 2015 was a solid year for me. I got an Olympic quota place for Slovakia and at the same time I made a big step towards Rio in the national Olympic selections. I finished 2nd in the overall World Cup Series and I'm already looking forward to the next season.”

“I love C2” – Gauthier Klauss (FRA)

C2
Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Peche (FRA) had a strong season but still missed that elusive World title despite remaining overall ICF World Ranked No. 1 crew. The new World Champions Franz Anton & Jan Benzien (GER) delivered at Lee Valley when it mattered most. It was their German team-mates Robert Behling & Thomas Becker who snatched the Senior European title.

The trend continued through 2015 with no boats from outside Europe making it into a Senior final. It was that much more thrilling to see x C2 crews from outside Europe make the U23/Junior Worlds final in Foz. Devin McEwan & Casey Eichfeld (USA) at 27 remain the highest ranked.

2015 Season Summary of Winners

Click here to see the consolidated summary of winners of the heat, semi-final and final at Worlds and World Cup races.

2015 Season race percentage analysis

Click here to see the consolidated summary of percentage analysis at Worlds and World Cup races.

Top 2015 U23 & Junior rising stars
Congratulations to the top U23 in the 2015, based on ICF 2015:4 ranking; Jiri Prskavec (CZE) 5th in K1M, Jess Fox (AUS) 1st in K1W and C1W, Ryan Westley (GBR) 25th and Jonas Kaspar & Marek Sindler (CZE) 4th in C2.

Congratulations to the top Juniors in the 2015, based on ICF 2015:4 ranking; Jakub Grigar (SVK) 54th in K1M, Nina Weratschnig (AUT) 54th in K1W, Florian Breuer (GER) 41st in C1M, Miren Lazkano (ESP) 16th in C1W and Michael Matejka & Jan Vetrovsky (CZE) 40th in C2.

Final Reflections
I started the year commenting in my Sportscene season preview anticipating of the Senior Worlds at Lee Valley and Junior/U23 Worlds in Brazil.

New World champions (Jiri Prskavec, Katerina Kudejova and Franz Anton & Jan Benzien) and with new personal bests for many other athletes. For me 2015 included 15 articles, one book review, more than 1,500 live race tweets, and an eBook.

Sadly, we also remember athletes and their family whom we have lost this year including Claudia Baer (GER), Lou Jull (NZL) and Bastien Damiens (FRA). You are all greatly missed. Jan Benzien (GER) summed up adding; “Successful in sport, hard work and unhappy to lose kayak friends”.

The next chapter is Rio on the new Aquece course. The top athletes are out in Rio at the time of writing for the Olympic test event. Will the course measure up to the standard? The Rio city backdrop is certainly stunning. The single Olympic spot will be fiercely contested in many nations. Expect 3 words from many athletes “Qualified for Rio” early in 2016. At present only a handful of athletes including the Great Britain team have been selected to represent their nation.

2016 holds much promise, with July’s U23/Junior Worlds in Krakow, Poland. There are no Senior Worlds as it is an Olympic year. The second annual World Paddle Awards take place in in March.

If in 2015 you were an accomplished slalom paddler then I hope you had a good season and alternatively if were completely new to canoeing then I hope you have been encouraged you to pick up any shape of paddle for the first time.