The 1981 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Bala, Wales, Great Britain from July 15-24 under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.[1] It was the 17th edition. The mixed C2 event was reinstated after not being held at the previous championships.
| Event | align=center bgcolor="gold" | Gold | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="silver" | Silver | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="CC9966" | Bronze | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | 234.58 | 234.92 | 246.27 | |||||||||
| C1 team | Jon Lugbill David Hearn Ron Lugbill | 251.02 | Hervé Madore Jean Sennelier Jean Salamé | 292.69 | Gerald Moos Fredi Zimmermann Jürgen Schnitzerling | 333.38 | ||||||
| C2 | Steve Garvis Mike Garvis | 264.23 | Dieter Welsink Peter Czupryna | 271.68 | Paul Grabow Jefry Huey | 272.78 | ||||||
| C2 team | Jock Young & Alistair Munro Robert Joce & Robert Owen Eric Jamieson & Robin Williams | 338.17 | Wojciech Kudlik & Jerzy Jeż Marek Maslanka & Ryszard Seruga Zbigniew Czaja & Jacek Kasprzycki | 356.30 | Carl Gutschick & Paul Flack Paul Grabow & Jefry Huey Steve Garvis & Mike Garvis | 395.14 |
| Event | align=center bgcolor="gold" | Gold | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="silver" | Silver | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="CC9966" | Bronze | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1 | 211.94 | 214.35 | 219.58 | |||||||||
| K1 team | Richard Fox Albert Kerr Nicolas Wain | 246.55 | Jürg Götz Urs Steinmann Milo Duffek | 251.58 | Jean-Yves Prigent Thierry Junquet Bernard Renault | 252.37 |
| Event | align=center bgcolor="gold" | Gold | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="silver" | Silver | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="CC9966" | Bronze | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C2 | Elizabeth Hayman Fritz Haller | 355.12 | Barbara McKee John Sweet | 442.58 | Karen Marte Brett Sorensen | 464.39 |
| Event | align=center bgcolor="gold" | Gold | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="silver" | Silver | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points | align=center bgcolor="CC9966" | Bronze | align=center bgcolor="EFEFEF" | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1 | 257.69 | 262.79 | 270.10 | |||||||||
| K1 team | Ulrike Deppe Susanne Erbers Gabriele Köllmann | 303.10 | Elizabeth Sharman Jane Roderick Susan Small | 326.80 | Linda Harrison Cathy Hearn Yuri Kusuda | 333.69 |