Maksim Opalev had the following podium finishes at the Flatwater World Championships: 1st 1998 C1 500 m, 1st 1999 C1 200 m, 1st 1999 C1 500 m, 1st 1999 C1 1000 m, 1st 2001 C1 500 m, 1st 2002 C1 200 m, 1st 2002 C1 500 m, 1st 2002 C4 200 m (with Sergey Ulegin, Aleksandr Kostoglod, and the non-Olympian Roman Kruglyakov), 1st 2003 C1 200 m, 1st 2005 C4 200 m (with Aleksandr Kovalyov, Aleksandr Kostoglod, and the non-Olympian Roman Kruglyakov), 1st 2006 C1 500 m, 2nd 1997 C4 1000 m (with Konstantin Fomichev, Aleksandr Kostoglod, and the non-Olympian Vladislav Polzunov), 2nd 2001 C1 200 m, 2nd 2002 C1 1000 m, 2nd 2003 C1 500 m, 2nd 2005 C1 200 m, 2nd 2007 C1 200 m, 2nd 2007 C1 500 m, 3rd 2001 C4 200 m (with Aleksandr Kovalyov, Aleksandr Kostoglod, and the non-Olympian Vladislav Polzunov), 3rd 2003 C1 1000 m, 3rd 2005 C1 500 m.