Canoeing has been featured as competition sports in the
Summer Olympic Games since the
1936 Games in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, although they were demonstration sports at the
1924 Games in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition:
slalom and
sprint.
Two styles of boats are used in this sport:
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the ter ...
s with 1 or 2 canoers and
kayaks with 1, 2 or 4 kayakers. This leads to the name designation of each event. For example, "C-1" is a ''canoe singles'' event and "K-2" is a ''kayak doubles'' event. Races are usually 500 metres or 1000 metres long, although there were also 10 km events from 1936 to 1956. On 13 August 2009, it was announced by the
International Canoe Federation
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliate ...
that the men's 500 m events would be replaced at the
2012 Summer Olympics by 200 m events with one of them being K-1 200 m for the women. The other events for men at 200 m will be C-1, K-1, and K-2. This was confirmed at their 2009 Board of Directors meeting in
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west ...
,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
on 5 December 2009.
Summary
Canoe sprint
Events
Medal table
Source:
''Last updated after the 2020 Summer Olympics and after silver and bronze medals reallocation in 2021 in
London 2012 Men's C-1 200 metres event.''
Canoe slalom
Events
Medal table
Source:
''Last updated after the 2020 Summer Olympics''
Overall medal table
''Updated after the 2020 Summer Olympics and after silver and bronze medals reallocation in 2021 in
London 2012 Men's C-1 200 metres event.''
Nations
See also
*
List of Olympic venues in canoeing
For the Summer Olympics there are 26 List of Olympic venues, venues that have been or will be used in Canoeing at the Summer Olympics, canoeing. Initially set for canoe racing, canoe sprint (flatwater racing until November 2008), Whitewater sla ...
References
{{Canoeing and kayaking
Olympics
Canoeing