Halesowen paddler going for World Championship glory in Oklahoma City.

Nikita Setchell hopes the upcoming World Championships will provide a platform to find her best form after an injury-hit start to the season.

The 25-year-old from Halesowen has been competing on the World Cup circuit as she continues her recovery from concussion, with a best finish so far of seventh in the kayak cross individual event in Prague.

The exhilarating kayak cross is the event in which Setchell has made her name, having won successive golds at the World Under-23 Championships in 2021 and 2022, and she is now looking to rediscover that form on the senior world stage.

“I am definitely a little bit nervous, the first three races of the season didn't quite go to plan, but we're showing good speed and strength going forward into the Worlds,” she said. “I am still coming back from a concussion, so it's been a bit of a long process. At a team selection someone came down on my head with a boat, so I experienced quite a lot of force to my head, and it took me out for a while.

“I was out the boat for four weeks and didn’t get back on white water until two weeks before the World Cup. I still have a few symptoms but it’s all right.”

Setchell, who won European kayak cross bronze two years ago, is creative away from the boat and helped design the medals ahead of the 2023 World Championships, which took place on home waters in Lee Valley.

“We had a competition and I thought ‘why not’,” she added. “I'm pretty arty. My degree is in product design and manufacturing engineering and I'm pretty handy on a computer as well, so I thought I'd give it a go. I was sad to not win one myself but hopefully I'll get one this year.”

Oklahoma City hosts this year’s global showpiece, which will be held on the same course on which Olympic medals will be decided in two years’ time.

Qualification points for LA 2028 are on offer in Oklahoma as part of a revamped system and Setchell hopes to take advantage.

“I was gutted to miss out in Paris so I'm using that as extra fuel to go get it this year,” she said. “It's a new venue which will be nice to explore. We do a lot of the same on the circuit, but I really can't wait, it's the biggest race this season so hopefully I can go and get a medal.”

Paddle UK is the national governing body for canoeing, kayaking and all other paddle sports. For more information, visit https://paddleuk.org.uk/