Canoe and kayak sprint racing made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport in the 1924 Paris Games and became a medal sport for men only 12 years later. Women began competing in kayak sprint in 1948, and canoe events in 2020.
Canoe and kayak slalom joined the Olympics in 1972 and has appeared continuously since 1992. Kayak cross, a new event, will debut in Paris this summer.
Here’s what to know about how the events work and what to expect at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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How does Olympic canoe/kayak work?
Canoe and kayak represent the different boats competitors use in both sprint and slalom racing. Athletes kneel in canoes and propel their boats with single-blade paddles, while athletes use double-blade paddles from a sitting position in kayaks.
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Sprint races are held in heats of eight on flatwater with one-, two- or four-person boats, at distances ranging from 200 meters to 1,000 meters.
Slalom races are timed events held on a man-made whitewater course where, similar to slalom skiing, competitors navigate a series of gates with penalties enforced for touching or missing gates.
In kayak cross, four boats race against each other after being dropped from a platform more than 6 feet in the air into the whitewater course. Boat-to-boat contact is allowed in the extreme sports event.
Who are the top Team USA athletes in canoe/kayak?
Nevin Harrison: 2020 Olympic gold medalist in 200-meter canoe single; 2019 and 2022 gold medalist at world championships in 200-meter canoe single.
Evy Leibfarth:Won bronze in the women’s canoe slalom single Wednesday. Will also compete in kayak cross. Won gold in kayak slalom and bronze in kayak cross at 2023 Pan-Am games.
Casey Eichfeld: Four-time Olympic qualifier (2008, 2012, 2016) in canoe slalom; finished 19th at 2023 world championships.
What’s the international landscape for Olympic canoe/kayak?
Australia’s Jessica Fox won double golds in the women’s singles canoe slalom and kayak slalom earlier this week. Klaudia Zwolinska of Poland took silver in the K-1 slalom, and Germany’s Kimberley Woods won bronze. Fox was joined on the C-1 slalom podium by second-place Elena Lilik of Germany and USA’s Leibfarth in third.
In the men’s C-1 final, France’s Nicolas Gestin won gold, followed by Germany’s Adam Burgess and Matej Benus of Slovakia.
Harrison won the only canoe/kayak medal for the United States in Tokyo, and the sport has historically been dominated by several eastern European nations and Australia. Germany won medals in all four slalom races – canoe and kayak, both men and women – in 2021 (Games postponed a year due to COVID). Fox took gold in canoe and bronze in kayak slalom in Tokyo, and Czechia’s Jiri Prskavec will be looking to medal at his third straight Olympics after winning gold in kayak slalom in 2020.
In sprint, New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington, a three-time gold medalist in Tokyo, will be back to defend her 500-meter kayak single and double titles – the 200-meter kayak single, her third gold from Tokyo, is no longer part of the program – while Canada’s Katie Vincent could be Harrison’s biggest competition in 200-meter canoe single.
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