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 the 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.
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.
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, seven events in sprint canoe racing were contested, and for the first time at the Olympic Games, four events in slalom canoeing were also contested, at the Augsburg Eiskanal.
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.
Peter Kauzer is a Slovenian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1999.
Fabien Lefèvre is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998]. As a permanent resident of the United States, he has competed for his country of residence since 2013. He represented France until 2011. He won two medals at the Summer Olympics in the K1 event with a silver in 2008 and a bronze in 2004. He has a son called Noe Lefèvre.
The ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships are an international event in canoeing organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every year in non-Summer Olympic years since 2002. From 1949 to 1999, they had taken place in odd-numbered years. The 2001 championships were scheduled to take place in Ducktown, Tennessee from 20 to 23 September, but were canceled in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The 2009 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held on 9–13 September 2009 at Parc Olímpic del Segre in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the 32nd edition. La Seu d'Urgell hosted the event previously in 1999. A demonstration event for women's single canoe (C1W) took place that was swept by Australia. Slovakia was the top medal winner with six, including three golds. Germany and Great Britain each won four medals with a gold medal each. Host nation Spain won their first medals ever at the championships with four.
Alexander Slafkovský is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998.
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.
The ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup is an annual series of races in canoe slalom held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation. It has been held since 1988 in four canoe and kayak disciplines for men and women. The four original disciplines were men's single canoe (C1), men's double canoe (C2), men's kayak (K1) and women's kayak. A women's single canoe discipline (C1) has been added to the world cup in 2010. The men's C2 event was removed from the world cup series in 2018 and it was replaced by the mixed C2 event. 2018 was also the first time that world cup points were awarded for the extreme K1 event.
The 2005 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of eight races in 4 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 18th edition. The series consisted of 4 continental championships, 3 world cup races and the world championships.
The 2017 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships was the 38th edition of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. The event took place from 22 September to 1 October 2017 in Pau, France under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF) at the Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater Stadium. Pau was also hosting the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships as part of the same event.
Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was contested in two main disciplines: canoe slalom, to take place from 25 to 30 July 2021, and canoe sprint, from 2 to 7 August. The slalom competitions will be held at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course; whereas the sprint events will be staged at Sea Forest Waterway.
The women's C-1 slalom canoeing competition at the 2014 Asian Games in Hanam was held from 1 to 2 October at the Misari Canoe/Kayak Center. The slalom event was on flat water and not an artificial canoe slalom course. Each NOC could enter two athletes but only one of them could advance to the semifinal.
The 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were the 40th edition of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. The event took place from 24 to 29 September 2019 in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF). The events took place at the Segre Olympic Park which also hosted the canoe slalom events at the 1992 Summer Olympics. La Seu d'Urgell hosted the championships for the third time after previously hosting the event in 1999 and 2009
This article details the canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics qualifying phase. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to 2012 and 2016 format, a qualification system has been set up for both slalom and sprint canoeing at these games. The quotas have already been set for each event by the International Canoe Federation in October 2018.
The women's C-1 slalom canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 28 and 29 July 2021 at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course. 22 canoeists from 22 nations competed. The event was won by Jessica Fox from Australia, who already had three medals in K-1 slalom from the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics. Briton Mallory Franklin won silver, and German Andrea Herzog bronze. For both of them it was the first Olympic medal.
The women's K-1 slalom canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 25 and 27 July 2021 at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course. 27 canoeists from 27 nations competed.
