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 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.
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.
Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi is a French slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1979 to 1996.
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.
Václav Havel was a Czechoslovak slalom and sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. He was born in Prague.
Pierre d'Alençon is a retired French slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. He won five medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds and a bronze.
Éric Biau is a French slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. He won seven medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold, three silvers and three bronzes.
Fabian Dörfler is a German slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 2001 to 2014.
Marianne Agulhon is a French slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. She won two medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold and a bronze.
Maria Francis (Lund) is a British and Welsh slalom canoeist who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. She was women's K1 British Champion in 1989, silver medalist at the 1990 Europa Cup in Merano and went on to win a bronze medal in the K1 team event at the 1993 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Mezzana.
The canoeing races at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were contested in two main disciplines: the slalom, from 29 July to 2 August, and the 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.
Denis Gargaud Chanut is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level in C1 since 2004. Between 2009 and 2011 he also competed in the C2 category alongside Fabien Lefèvre. He won a gold medal in the C1 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Hannes Aigner is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006. He won a bronze medal in the K1 event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
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.
Heinz-Jürgen Steinschulte is a former West German slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s.
Wolfgang Wenzel is a former West German slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.
