His new success was one of 15 world titles in the non-Olympic events on an action-packed final day as Moldova, Ukraine, Portugal, Poland, Chile, Hungary, Denmark and Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) also enjoyed success on Sunday.   

Dostal claimed the 500m world title just two weeks after winning his first Olympic crown in the men's 1000m kayak singles at Paris 2024. It was his sixth world gold and fourth in the event as he continued his fabulous form in Samarkand. "I was just trying to keep the form I had at the Olympics," he said.   

"It was pretty tough because I had a lot of media stuff and I also tried to do some training on the mixed K2 with my fiancée (Anezka Paloudova). We finished third yesterday, so I am really happy with the results I got here here in Samarkand," he added. Portugal's Fernando Pimenta finished second, while AIN paddler Uladzislau Kravets of Belarus took bronze. 

There was no gold for the other Olympic champion in the field as the Czech Republic's Martin Fuksa had to settle for silver after a dramatic 500m final in the men's single canoe. Victory went to Moldova's Serghei Tarnovschi, with bronze going to Romania's Catalin Chirila.

Ukraine took two gold medals on the final day. Liudmyla Luzan was crowned women's C1 500m champion for the second time, beating Chile's Maria Jose Mailliard and Kazakhstan's Mariya Brovkova, who took silver and bronze respectively, while Liudmyla Kukinovska won the women's K1 200m title. 

"This is my first World Championships medal and I can't believe it," said Kukinovska.  "I am very happy. I want to thank everyone who believed in me and those who didn't, because I did it". Russian AIN paddler Anastasiia Dolgova took silver, while Denmark's Bolette Nyvang Iversen took bronze. 

Portugal's Messias Baptista won his second gold medal in Samarkand with victory in the men's K1 200m.  Just 24 hours after winning the 500m mixed kayak double title with Teresa Portela, Baptista was on top again, with Poland's Jakub Stepun taking silver and Spain's Carlos Garrote taking bronze. "This is the distance that I enjoy the most. I can say that I am the fastest in the world," said Baptista. 

AIN paddlers from Russia Svetlana Chernigovskaya and Anastasiia Dolgova won gold in the women's K2 200m, followed by Teresa Portela and Francisca Laia from Portugal (silver), and AIN athletes from Belarus Maryna Litvinchuk (bronze). AIN paddlers from Russia Alexey Korovashkov and Ekaterina Shliapnikova took the mixed C2 500m title. "We almost fell in the water so we had to fix it," said Korovashkov. "Then I got it back and had to be faster."

Belarusian AIN paddlers Yuliya Trushkina and Inna Nedelkina topped the women's 200m double, beating Moldova's Daniela Cociu and Maria Olarasu (silver), and China's Shengnan Xu and Jingjing Xiang (bronze). Poland's Oleksii Koliadych capped a fine sprinting season by winning the men's C1 200m. 

"I've won two World Cups, I'm European champion and now I'm finally world champion," said Koliadych. "Whenever you become world champion, it smells different. The first title (in 2022) was incredible. I've been preparing for this title for a long time. It's been a long journey to get this second title." The other medals went to Spain's Pablo Grana (silver) and Georgia's Zaza Nadiradze (bronze). 

Hungary's Emese Kohalmi won her second gold medal in two days, adding the women's K1 5000m title to her K1 1000m triumph. "This was my toughest race ever. I tried to do my best and this result is really good," she said. Neutral paddler from Belarus Maryna Litvinchuk sealed silver, while Spain's Miriam Vega took bronze. 

Denmark's Mads Brandt Pedersen retained the men's K1 5000m crown, while Portugal's Pimenta won silver and Sweden's Joakim Lindberg bronze. Poland's Wiktor Glazunow took the men's C1 5000m crown, ahead of Moldova's Tarnovschi and Hungary's Balazs Adolf. Chile's Maria Jose Mailliard was the women's C1 5000m champion after overtaking Germany's Annika Loske in the portage. Loske took silver and Ukraine's Valeriia Tereta took bronze. 

The four mixed events made their World Championships debut. The AIN quartet from Belarus (Nadzeya Kushner, Volha Khudzenka, Uladzislau Kravets and Dzmitry Natynchyk) won the mixed K4 500m crown, followed by Hungary and Portugal. 

The C4 500m title was won by AIN paddlers from Russia Sofiia Shtil, Ekaterina Shliapnikova, Zakhar Petrov and Ivan Shtyl. "It is important to pass on my experience to the younger generation," said Shtyl, who competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games. "I tell them what I know and I hope it will help them in the future. This competition was like a master class." The AIN quartet from Belarus won silver, while the Spanish team took bronze.