The 2008 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of seven races in 4 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 21st edition. The series consisted of 4 continental championships (Africa, Oceania, Pan American and Asia) which were open to all countries and 3 world cup races. The athletes gained points for their results in the three world cup races plus their best result from any of the four continental championships.
| Label | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 African Championships |  Sagana | 27 January |
| Oceania Championships 2008 |  Penrith | 15–16 March |
| 2008 Pan American Championships |  Charlotte | 26 April |
| 2008 Asia Canoe Slalom Championships |  Nakhon Nayok | 17–18 May |
| World Cup Race 1 |  Prague | 20–22 June |
| World Cup Race 2 |  Tacen | 28–29 June |
| World Cup Race 3 |  Augsburg | 4–6 July |
The winner of each race was awarded 50 points. Paddlers outside the top 20 in the C2 event and outside the top 40 in the other 3 events were awarded 2 points for participation. If two or more athletes or boats were equal on points, the ranking was determined by their positions in the final world cup race. [1]
C1 men
| C2 men
|
K1 men
| K1 women
|
The first African Canoe Slalom Championships were held in Sagana, Kenya on January 27. [2] USA won the medal table with 2 golds and a bronze.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men |  Siboniso Cele (RSA) | Cyprian Ngidi (RSA) | Tyler Hinton (USA) | |||
| C2 men | United States Mark Staszko Nic Borst | South Africa Cameron McIntosh Cyprian Ngidi | South Africa Jabulane Mofokeng Siboniso Cele | |||
| K1 men |  Benjamin Boukpeti (TOG) |  Johnathan Akinyemi (NGR) | Cameron McIntosh (RSA) | |||
| K1 women | Emily Jackson (USA) |  Sarah Dupire (ALG) |  Marissa Dederer (CAN) |
The 2008 Oceania Championships were held in Penrith, Australia on March 15–16. Slovakia won 2 golds a silver and a bronze to top the medal table.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men [3] |  Michal Martikán (SVK) | 197.81 | Robin Bell (AUS) | 202.00 | Alexander Slafkovský (SVK) | 205.54 |
| C2 men [4] |  China Hu Minghai Shu Junrong | 213.25 | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 214.61 | Australia Mark Bellofiore Lachie Milne | 216.36 |
| K1 men [5] | Jens Ewald (GER) | 197.41 | Warwick Draper (AUS) | 197.47 | Brett Heyl (USA) | 197.50 |
| K1 women [6] | Elena Kaliská (SVK) | 222.42 | Li Tong (CHN) | 223.02 | Li Jingjing (CHN) | 224.67 |
The 2008 Pan American Championships took place in Charlotte, USA on April 26. The home athletes dominated the medal table by winning 3 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men [7] | Robin Bell (AUS) | 187.70 | Benn Fraker (USA) | 194.23 | Jeff Larimer (USA) | 199.13 |
| C2 men [8] | United States Scott McCleskey Austin Crane | 216.44 | United States Benjamin Kvanli Mark Poindexter | 258.03 | United States Casey Eichfeld Rick Powell | 269.07 |
| K1 men [9] | Brett Heyl (USA) | 179.70 | Eric Hurd (USA) | 181.83 | Scott Mann (USA) | 182.70 |
| K1 women [10] | Heather Corrie (USA) | 223.76 | Zuzana Vanha (USA) | 232.63 | Jessica Groeneveld (CAN) | 243.65 |
The 2008 Asia Canoe Slalom Championships were the last of the continental championships to count for the world cup. The event took place in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand on May 17–18. China won the medal table with 2 golds, 2 silvers and 4 bronzes.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men |  Takuya Haneda (JPN) | Feng Liming (CHN) | Zhang Chaojun (CHN) | |||
| C2 men | China Mai Jianmin Mo Bin | Japan Masatoshi Sanma Hiroyuki Nagao | China Yu Hongmin Chen Jin | |||
| K1 men | Kazuki Yazawa (JPN) | Tsubasa Sasaki (JPN) | Huang Cunguang (CHN) | |||
| K1 women | Li Tong (CHN) | Cen Nanqin (CHN) | Zou Yingying (CHN) |
The main part of the world cup series got under way in Prague, Czech Republic on June 20–22. France and Czech Republic shared the top spot in the medal table with both countries winning 2 golds and 1 bronze medal. [11]
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men |  Tony Estanguet (FRA) | 175.50 | Robin Bell (AUS) | 176.91 |  David Florence (GBR) | 178.39 |
| C2 men | Czech Republic Marek Jiras Tomáš Máder | China Hu Minghai Shu Junrong | France Cédric Forgit Martin Braud | |||
| K1 men | Fabien Lefèvre (FRA) | Erik Pfannmöller (GER) | Lukáš Kubričan (CZE) | |||
| K1 women | Štěpánka Hilgertová (CZE) | 192.47 | Mandy Planert (GER) | 193.84 | Jana Dukátová (SVK) | 195.43 |
The penultimate race of the series took place in Tacen, Slovenia on June 28–29. Two gold medals were enough for Germany to win the medal table. Slovenia took one gold courtesy of Peter Kauzer. [12]
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men | Nico Bettge (GER) | 193.27 | Alexander Slafkovský (SVK) | 196.65 |  Ronnie Dürrenmatt (SUI) | 198.81 |
| C2 men | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 200.08 | Slovakia Ladislav Škantár Peter Škantár | 206.25 | Czech Republic Marek Jiras Tomáš Máder | 207.27 |
| K1 men | Peter Kauzer (SLO) | 179.29 | Lukáš Kubričan (CZE) | 184.17 | Richard Hounslow (GBR) | 184.46 |
| K1 women | Mandy Planert (GER) | 205.34 | Li Jingjing (CHN) | 206.23 | Gabriela Stacherová (SVK) | 209.67 |
The world cup series closed in Augsburg, Germany on July 4–6. Australia was the most successful country with 2 golds. The German paddlers won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal. [13]
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 men | Robin Bell (AUS) | 203.67 | Tomáš Indruch (CZE) | 205.94 |  Krzysztof Bieryt (POL) | 206.47 |
| C2 men | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 216.77 | Slovakia Ladislav Škantár Peter Škantár | 219.42 | Germany Kay Simon Robby Simon | 221.13 |
| K1 men | Erik Pfannmöller (GER) | 193.03 | Benoît Peschier (FRA) | 195.73 | Scott Parsons (USA) | 195.79 |
| K1 women | Katrina Lawrence (AUS) | 216.01 | Jana Dukátová (SVK) | 217.06 | Marie Řihošková (CZE) | 217.70 |
Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing at the international level since 1994. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals, which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times.
Pavol Hochschorner is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1996 to 2017. Competing together with his twin brother Peter Hochschorner, they are the most successful C2 paddlers in the history of canoe slalom. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They retired from wildwater canoeing after the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava.
Peter Hochschorner is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1996 to 2017. Competing together with his twin brother Pavol Hochschorner, they are the most successful C2 paddlers in the history of canoe slalom. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They retired from wildwater canoeing after the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava.
Elena Kaliská is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1988 to 2019. Competing in four Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals in the K1 event, earning them in 2004 and 2008.
Shu Junrong is a former Chinese male slalom canoeist specializing in the C2 event with Hu Minghai. The pair competed together from 2003, when they were first paired until the 2013 National Games.
David Florence is a British slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1999. He is the 2013 and 2015 world champion in individual single canoe (C1) and 2013 champion in double canoe (C2), the latter with Richard Hounslow. Florence was the first canoeist since Charles Dussuet, sixty years earlier, to achieve the C1, C2 double at the same World Championships.
Vavřinec Hradilek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2003.
Daniele Cristoforo Molmenti is an Italian slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2016.
Jana Dukátová is a Slovak retired slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2021.
Ladislav Škantár is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1998 to 2018, along with his cousin Peter Škantár in the C2 class. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They announced retirement from wildwater canoeing during the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava where they didn't start due to Ladislav's injury.
Peter Škantár is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1998 to 2018, along with his cousin Ladislav Škantár in the C2 class. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They announced retirement from wildwater canoeing during the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava where they didn't start due to Ladislav's injury.
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The 2009 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of five races in 4 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 22nd edition. The series consisted of 2 continental championships which were open to all countries and 3 world cup races. The athletes gained points for their results in the three world cup races plus their best result from any of the two continental championships. The women's single canoe appeared for the first time at the world cups and was an exhibition event.
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Michael Dawson is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2004.
