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.
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.
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.
David Florence is a retired British slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2021. 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.
Takuya Haneda is a Japanese male slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002. He won a bronze medal in the C1 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first Asian canoeist to win an Olympic medal.
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.
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.
Etienne Stott MBE is an English slalom canoeist who started competing at the international level in 2002, initially in the K1 category, but switching to C2 in 2005. He retired from the sport in 2016. He is the Olympic Champion in the C2 event from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Luuka Jones is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.
Jessica Esther "Jess" Fox is a French-born Australian Program and Policy Officer and world and Olympic champion slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2008.
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 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.
Canoeing competitions at the 2023 Pan American Games are scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 4, 2023 at the Aconcagua River in Los Andes (slalom) and Laguna Grande in San Pedro de la Paz (sprint).
Canoeing competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run across two main disciplines: canoe slalom, to take place from 27 July to 5 August, and canoe sprint, from 6 to 10 August. Both canoe slalom and sprint events will be staged at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.
This article details the qualifying phase for canoeing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Similar to the previous editions, the International Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation (ICF) have established a qualification system for both slalom and sprint canoeing. The quota places have already been set for each event by ICF in October 2022.
The men's K-1 slalom canoeing event at the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place on 30 July and 1 August 2024 at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.
The men's kayak cross slalom canoeing event at the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place 2 August to 5 August 2024 at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.
