Country: Poland | Discipline: Sprint Kayak (K1/K4 1000m) | Olympics: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004
Role: Founder & Designer, G'Power | Founded: 2005 (predecessor GP manufactory since 1988)
Rafał Głażewski is a Polish kajak regatowyer who competed at two Olympic Games and then built a wiosło manufacturing company from that experience. He raced K1 1000m at Sydney 2000 and K4 1000m at Athens 2004, finishing 8th in the team event. After retiring from competition, he founded G'Power in 2005 in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland.
From Olympic Athlete to Paddle Designer
Most wiosło manufacturers employ engineers who design equipment they never use at elite level. Głażewski designs paddles he would race on himself. That distinction shows in the product line: pióro profiles tested in international competition, shaft stiffness options based on real racing data, and size ranges that cover junior athletes through 90+ kg sprint paddlers.
The GP manufactory that preceded G'Power existed since 1988, giving the operation nearly four decades of carbon fiber wiosło production experience. Głażewski transitioned this workshop into a modern CNC-based facility with Lambda VTS 5D milling, Solidworks 3D CAD/CAM design, and technologies like Monocoque construction and Spread Tow carbon layup.
Manufacturing Philosophy
G'Power produces every pióro and shaft in-house at the Gorzów Wielkopolski factory. There is no outsourced production. The Technology Park page details the CNC milling process: 0.01 mm precision on pióro moulds, 1–2 gram batch consistency across team orders of 20+ identical paddles.
This in-house approach means Głażewski's team controls the entire chain from Solidworks pióro design through carbon layup to UV printing on finished products. Custom pióro profiles for sponsored athletes feed back into the production line as new models.
Athletes Who Race on G'Power
The team roster includes 16 athletes across 10 countries and 4 disciplines:
- Jessica Fox (Australia) — 2x Olympic gold Paris 2024, canoe slalom
- Sebastian Brendel (Germany) — 2x Olympic gold C1 1000m, kanadyjka regatowa
- Beata Mikolajczyk-Rosolska (Poland) — 3x Olympic medalist, płaska woda kayak
- Alexander Slafkovsky (Slovakia) — 10x World Champion, canoe slalom
- Fiona Pennie (Great Britain) — Olympic finalist, kayak slalom
- Stephen Wright (USA) — World Champion squirt boating, freestyle
The full roster and current results are on the Team page.
Global Distribution
G'Power paddles ship to over 40 distributors across 6 continents. The company produces paddles for 10+ competitive disciplines: slalom, sprint/płaska woda, smoczych łodzi, outrigger, SUP, sea touring, woda górska, freestyle, kayak polo, and surfski. Browse the complete range in the paddle catalog or read the 2026 comparison guide.
Kontakt
G'Power — Rafał Głażewski
Harcerska 3, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
Phone: +48 883 44 22 44
Email: [email protected]