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.
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today but is often used as a hypernym for both canoe marathon and canoe sprint. Similarly, the term 'canoeing' is used to describe both kayaking and canoeing.
A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or narrow the canoe is, although regularly the less contact a canoe has with the water the faster it goes. This makes the narrower boats much faster and popular when it comes to racing.
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation. They are usually held every non-Olympic year and have officially included paracanoe events since 2010; paracanoe-specific editions of this event are usually held in Summer Paralympic years.
Sprint kayak is a type of canoe sprint held on calm water. The paddler is seated, facing forward, and uses a double-bladed paddle pulling the blade through the water on alternate sides to propel the boat forward. Kayak sprint has been in every summer Olympics since it debuted at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation.
The 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was the thirty-ninth edition of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, that took place between 17 and 21 August 2011 in Szeged, Hungary. The Southern Hungarian city welcomed the world event for the third time, having hosted the championship previously in 1998 and 2006. These championships were awarded initially to Vichy, France, however, the race course on the Allier proved to be inadequate to hold the competition and the French Canoe Federation withdraw from organizing the event, following that Szeged, the original host of the 2013 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, was moved up to 2011.
Canoe marathon is a paddling sport in which athletes paddle a kayak or canoe over a long distance to the finish line. The International Canoe Federation states standard distance races are at least 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) without an upper limit, while short distance races are between 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi), and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). Many events are raced down sections of river, including currents or portages around obstacles. Some events attract thousands of competitors and are staged over several days.
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 2013 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was held 29 August–1 September 2013 in Duisburg, Germany. The championships were awarded originally to Szeged, Hungary, but Szeged was moved to 2011 in the wake of Vichy, France's withdrawal in 2010 and awarded to Rio de Janeiro, who withdrew in September 2012. Consequently, the World Championships were awarded to Duisburg.
Liam Heath is a British sprint canoeist. He is the most successful British canoeist at the Olympics with a total of four medals; he won a gold medal in the individual 200m kayak sprint event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a bronze in the 2020 Olympics, as well as a silver in the men's double with Jon Schofield in 2016. and a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics in the K-2 200 with Schofield.
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.
Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation (IVF).
Dylan Littlehales is an Australian paracanoeist. He competed for Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
The 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 43rd edition of the World Championships, were held in Račice, Czech Republic, from 23 to 27 August 2017.
The 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 44th edition of the World Championships, were held in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, from 22 to 26 August 2018.
The 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 45th edition of the World Championships, were held in Szeged, Hungary from 21 to 25 August 2019.
The women's K-1 500 metres sprint canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 4 and 5 August 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. At least 13 canoeists from at least 13 nations competed.
The women's K-4 500 metres sprint canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 48 canoeists from 10 nations competed.
The 2024 ICF Paracanoe World Championships were held in Szeged, Hungary from 9 to 11 May 2024. This event, which is part of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in non-Paralympic years, took place as a standalone competition in order to accommodate athletes seeking to qualify for the 2024 Paralympic regatta. It shared the venue with, and was held concurrently with the 2024 European Canoe Sprint Qualifier and Szeged leg of the 2024 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup.
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Copenhagen, Denmark
Brisbane, Australia
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Vaxholm, Sweden
Cape Town, South Africa
Győr, Hungary
Dartmouth, Canada
Zamora, Spain 
Bergen, Norway
Tremolat, France
Týn nad Vltavou, Czech Republic
Gaia, Portugal
Singapore 
Rome, Italy
Oklahoma City, United States
Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
Shaoxing, China
Pitești, Romania
Metković, Croatia
