Slalom Canoeing and Kayaking at the Olympics
In whitewater slalom events, competitors aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible.
slalom kayaking eventSlalom canoeing and kayaking was first introduced in the summer Olympics during the 1972 games. In 1972 there were two classes of slalom canoeing (C1 and C2) for men only and one class of slalom kayaking (K1) for both men and women. The event was shelved after its initial appearance and made a comeback again in 1992 and has been in the program ever since.
Slalom Events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
For Paris, the Kayak Cross has been added to the Olympic program, replacing two Canoe Sprint Medals (men’s and women’s K1 200).
The kayak boats are identified by the letter “K” while the canoes are prefixed by a “C”, with the following number indicating the number of paddlers.
- C-1 (canoe single) Men
- C-1 (canoe single) Women
- K-1 (kayak single) Men
- K-1 (kayak single) Women
- Kayak Cross Men
- Kayak Cross Women
Changes in Tokyo 2020
The C-2 for men was dropped from the program, replaced with the C-1 for women, creating an equal number of events for men and women, a part of the Olympics' move towards gender equality.
Significant Performances
- The feat achieved by Michal Martikán of Slovakia will be a hard to match. He won a medal in five consecutive Olympics which includes two gold medals, two silver and one bronze.
- Štěpánka Hilgertová of Czechia won the gold medal twice in 1996 and 2000 in the Women's K1. Elena Kaliská of Slovakia followed it up with her own two gold winning streak in 2004 and 2008.
- Pavol Hochschorner and Peter Hochschorner, brothers from Slovakia, have dominated the C2 canoeing event with three consecutive gold medals in 2008, 2004, and 1996, and one bronze in 2012.
- For three consecutive Olympics (2012-2021) the top three placegetters in the women's K1 slalom included Spain's Maialen Chourraut and Austraia's Jessica Fox.
- In Paris 2024, all three women's slalom events were won by Australia, and all competitors were from the same family: Jessica Fox winning the K1 and C1 slalom, and sister Noemie Fox winning the new kayak cross event.
Related Pages
- Canoe and Kayak at the Olympic Games, including sprint canoe/kayak at the Olympics
- List of Olympic Sports
- See more on the Greatest Paddlers at the Olympics.
- More about the sports of Canoeing and Kayaking
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