Canoeing has been featured as competition sports in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin, although they were demonstration sports at the 1924 Games in Paris. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.
The 1986 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada at the Notre Dame Island. This is also where the canoeing and rowing competitions for the 1976 Summer Olympics took place.
Carola Zirzow is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the mid-1970s. She won two medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal with a gold in the K-1 500 m and a bronze in the K-2 500 m events.
Ture Wilhelm "Thor" Axelsson was a Finnish sprint canoer who competed in the late 1940s. He won two bronze medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, earning them in the K-2 1000 m and K-2 10000 m events. He was born in Helsinki. Axelsson also won a gold medal in the K-2 500 m event at the 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in London. Note that the K-2 500 m event did not become an official event at the Summer Olympics until the 1976 Games in Montreal. The event has been on the Olympic program since then.
Nils Björklöf was a Finnish sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1940s. He won two bronze medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, earning them in the K-2 1000 m and K-2 10000 m events.
Lars Bertil Glassér was a Swedish sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He won the silver medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
José Ramón López is a Spanish sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1970s. He won a silver medal in the K-4 1000 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Frank-Peter Bischof is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at Montreal in 1976.
Jürgen Lehnert is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1970s. He won a bronze medal in the K-4 1000 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Martina Bischof is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She won a gold medal in the K-2 500 m event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Bärbel Köster is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1970s. She won a bronze medal in the K-2 500 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Olaf Søyland is a Norwegian sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1970s. He was born in Flekkefjord. He won three medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with two golds and a silver . Søyland also finished sixth in the K-4 1000 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Giorgio Sbruzzi is an Italian sprint canoer who competed from the mid to late 1970s. He won a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at the 1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Belgrade.
Henryk Budzicz is a Polish sprint canoer who competed from the late 1970s. He won two gold medals at the 1977 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Sofia, earning them in the K-4 500 m and K-4 1000 m events.
Finn Rasmussen was a Danish sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1940s. He won a silver medal in the K-2 500 m event at the 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in London.
Anke Ohde is an East German sprint canoer who competed in the mid-1970s. She won five gold medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with two in the K-1 500 m, one in the K-2 500 m (1974), and two in the K-4 500 m events. In 1976, she was displaced by fellow SC Neubrandenburg club member Carola Zirzow in the K-1. The Olympic nomination for the K-2 went to the world champions, Bärbel Köster and Zirzow. Ohde thus went to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal as a canoeing reserve and did not compete. Ohde finished her active career after the Montreal Olympics.
Maria Mintscheva, born 7 February 1952) is a Bulgarian sprint canoer who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She won two medals in the K-4 500 m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold in 1977 and a silver in 1978.
Natascha Janakieva Petrova is a Bulgarian sprint canoer who competed from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. She won two medals in the K-4 500 m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold in 1977 and a silver in 1978.
Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were contested in two main disciplines: canoe slalom, from 29 July to 2 August, and canoe sprint, from 6 to 11 August. The slalom competition was held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre and the sprint events were staged at Eton College Rowing Centre, at Dorney Lake, known as Eton Dorney.
For the 1976 Summer Olympics, a total of twenty-seven sports venues were used. Several venues used had been in existence before Montreal made its first Olympic bid in the late 1930s. By the 1950s, Montreal's bid for the Olympics shifted from Winter to Summer before it was finally awarded the 1976 Summer Games in 1970. Strikes in 1974-5 affected construction of the Olympic Park, most notably the Stadium, Pool, and Velodrome, to the point where the FINA President threatened to not have the diving, swimming, and water polo events take place there for the games in early 1976 though all three venues were completed as best as possible prior to the 1976 Games. 27 swimming world records were set as a result. The oldest stadium, Molson Stadium at McGill University, would be converted into artificial turf for the field hockey tournaments while the sailing program in Kingston, Ontario would be held in freshwater, both for the first time in Summer Olympic history. Indoor track cycling took place at the Olympics for the first time at the velodrome. Once the Olympics finished, the Montreal Expos and Montreal Alouettes moved into Olympic Stadium, staying until 2004 and 1997, respectively. The Montreal Canadiens remained at the Montreal Forum until they moved to the Molson Centre in March 1996. In 1992, the velodrome was converted into an indoor zoo now known as the Montreal Biodôme. Île-Notre Dame hosted a canoe sprint world championships and two rowing world championships since the 1976 Games, but the area north of the basin on the island has been host to the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on an almost annual basis since 1978.
