Olympic Event: Canoe Sprint

The London 2012 Canoe Sprint event will take place from Sunday 6th until Saturday 11 August at Eton Dorney Rowing Lake. Canoe Sprint is one of two canoe events, the other being Canoe Slalom. There are 12 gold medals up for grabs with 246 athletes competing.

The Sport

In the Flatwater competitions, paddlers race across calm water, over distances of 500m and 1000m. There are events for single athletes (C1, K1), pairs (C2, K2) and fours (K4).

Athletes compete head-to-head, with the aim of crossing the finish line first. At the highest level, races can be won in under 80 seconds.

Canoe refers to both kayak and canoe. The kayak ‘paddler’ is in a sitting position with a double ended paddle and the canoe ‘paddler’ kneels in the boat using a single bladed paddle. The racing is head to head across 9 lanes with the objective to cross the line first. In the Sprint competitions, paddlers race across calm water over distances of 200m, 500m and 1000m. There are Olympic events for single athletes (C1, K1), pairs (C2, K2) and fours (K4). Both men and women race though women have yet to achieve Olympic status in Canoe.

History of the Sport

Flatwater Canoeing reached the Olympic Games as a demonstration event in 1924. It became a full medal sport at Berlin 1936, with women first competing (Kayak only) in London 1948.

Canoe Sprint reached the Olympic Games as a demonstration event in 1924. It became a full medal sport at Berlin 1936, with women first competing (in Kayak only) in London 1948.

Did you know?

-The 200 metres race makes its Olympic debut in 2012
-The oldest Canoe club in the world, the Royal Canoe Club of London, was founded in 1866.
-Kayaks have a foot controlled steering rudder bar
-Kayak ‘wing paddles’ invented in Sweden are now used.