The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad and officially branded as Munich 1972, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972.
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other activities such as canoe camping, or where canoeing is merely a transportation method used to accomplish other activities. Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. In some parts of Europe canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an open canoe.
Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.
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 affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Congress in Rome.
The Augsburg Eiskanal is an artificial whitewater river in Augsburg, Germany, constructed as the canoe slalom venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics in nearby Munich.
An artificial whitewater course (AWWC) is a site for whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, whitewater racing, whitewater rafting, playboating and slalom canoeing with artificially generated rapids.
Jon Phillip Lugbill is a whitewater canoe slalom racer. During the 1980s, he participated in international racing in Men's Individual C1. He is the only slalom racer to ever appear on the Wheaties box.
Richard Munro Fox is a British slalom canoeist who competed for Great Britain from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. He won eleven medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with ten golds and a bronze. Fox also won the overall World Cup title three times and the Euro Cup four times.
Tony Estanguet is a French slalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1. He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012.
Alexander Grimm is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002.
The Ocoee Whitewater Center, near Ducktown, Tennessee, United States, was the canoe slalom venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and is the only in-river course to be used for Olympic slalom competition. A 1,640 foot stretch of the Upper Ocoee River was narrowed by two-thirds to create the drops and eddies needed for a slalom course. Today, the course is watered only on summer weekends, 34 days a year, for use by guided rafts and private boaters. When the river has water, 24 commercial rafting companies take more than 750 raft passengers through the course each day.
Kanupark Markkleeberg, built in 2006, is the second of two artificial whitewater canoe/kayak slalom courses in Germany, and the only one powered by pumps. The other German course is the Eiskanal in Augsburg, used in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. Kanupark Markkleeberg is located on the southeast shore of Markkleeberger See, a lake south of Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. A former open-pit coal mine, the lake was flooded in 1999 with groundwater and developed as a water recreation area. The lake is part of the Leipziger Neuseenland, the largest landscape construction project in Europe, which is reclaiming formerly barren industrial and mining sites for recreational use.
The 1985 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held between 12 and 16 June 1985 in Augsburg, West Germany under the auspices of International Canoe Federation for the second time. Augsburg hosted the event previously in 1957. It was the 19th edition. It also marked the first time the championships took place on an artificial whitewater slalom course at the Eiskanal and the first to be held at an Olympic venue. The Eiskanal previously hosted the slalom canoeing events at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Munich.
The 2003 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Augsburg, Germany under the auspices of International Canoe Federation for the record-tying third time. It was the 28th edition. Augsburg hosted the championships previously in 1957 and 1985 when the city was part of West Germany, and matches the times hosted by Spittal, Austria, Meran, Italy, and Bourg St.-Maurice, France.
Timothy Mark Baillie MBE is a Scottish slalom canoeist who represented Britain. From Westhill in Aberdeenshire, he started competing at the international level in 1996, initially in the K1 category, but switching to C2 in 2003. He retired from the sport in 2013. He is the Olympic Champion in the C2 event from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
John Felton is an Australian slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. He finished 14th in the C-2 event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
For the 1972 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-two sports venues were used. A majority of the venues used were new construction in time for the 1972 Games after Munich was awarded the Games in 1966. Kiel Bay was the only venue from the 1936 Summer Olympics to be used for the 1972 Games. A stretch of the Autobahn near Munich was used for cycling's road team time trial event. After the Olympics, Olympiastadion hosted the final of the FIFA World Cup less than two years later. Augsburg's Eiskanal has served as host to three Canoe Slalom World Championships while the shooting range hosted the World Shooting Championships 2010. Olympiapark was part of Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
The 2012 European Canoe Slalom Championships took place in Augsburg, Germany between May 9 and 13, 2012 under the auspices of the European Canoe Association (ECA). It was the 13th edition and Augsburg hosted this event for the second time after its inaugural edition in 1996. The races were held on the Eiskanal which also hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics when canoe slalom made its first appearance at the Olympics.
The 2022 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships took place from 26 to 31 July 2022 in Augsburg, Germany under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 42nd edition. The events took place at the Augsburg Eiskanal. Augsburg hosted the championships for the fourth time after previously hosting in 1957, 1985 and 2003.
