Jan Benzien (born 22 July 1982) is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1999. Benzien started out as a C1 paddler. Since 2012 he has also been competing in C2, teaming up with Franz Anton.
He won eleven medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with two golds (C1 team: 2006, C2: 2015), eight silvers (C1: 2002; C1 team: 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013; C2 team: 2015), and a bronze (C1: 2009). He won additional 16 medals at the European Championships (3 golds, 7 silvers, and 6 bronzes). [4]
Benzien competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the C1 event, he finished second in the qualification round, thus progressing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Benzien finished twelfth, failing to reach the top eight and the final round. [1] At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he placed fourth in the C2 event, together with teammate Franz Anton. [1]
Benzien serves with the German Army and has a degree in sport management from the Vocational Academy of Riesa. He is married to the Olympic canoeist Mandy Planert; they have children, Justus Jonas and Mika. In 2014, he launched a canoe rental company in Leipzig. [3]
Season | Date | Venue | Position | Event |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | 6 Jul 2003 | La Seu d'Urgell | 3rd | C1 |
2004 | 30 May 2004 | Merano | 3rd | C1 |
2005 | 17 Jul 2005 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
2006 | 28 May 2006 | Athens | 3rd | C1 |
2009 | 28 Jun 2009 | Pau | 1st | C1 |
12 Jul 2009 | Augsburg | 3rd | C1 | |
2011 | 9 Jul 2011 | Markkleeberg | 2nd | C1 |
2012 | 2 Sep 2012 | Bratislava | 1st | C2 |
2014 | 8 Jun 2014 | Lee Valley | 2nd | C2 |
17 Aug 2014 | Augsburg | 2nd | C2 |
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.
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.
Stanislav Ježek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1994.
Vavřinec Hradilek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2003.
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.
Bohuslav Karlík was a Czechoslovak flatwater and slalom canoeist who competed from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won the silver in the C-1 1000 m event at Berlin in 1936.
Jan Mašek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1995.
Alexander Slafkovský is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998.
Jasmin Schornberg is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2001.
Matej Beňuš is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002.
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.
Ladislav Škantár is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1998 to 2018, along with his cousin Peter Škantár in the C2 class. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They announced retirement from wildwater canoeing during the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava where they didn't start due to Ladislav's injury.
Ján Bátik is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 2002 to 2018. He competed in the C1 event until 2005. He raced in the C2 event together with Tomáš Kučera from 2006 until 2018, when the discipline was discontinued. He also competed in the mixed C2 event alongside Soňa Stanovská in 2017 and 2018.
David Schröder is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2000.
Frank Henze is a German slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1995 to 2013.
Richard John Hounslow is a British slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. He started out as a specialist in the kayak (K1) category, but in 2009 he also started competing in canoe doubles (C2) alongside David Florence. In his last season (2016) he concentrated on the C2 class exclusively.
Luka Božič is a Slovenian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.
Sideris Tasiadis is a German slalom canoeist of Greek descent who has competed at the international level since 2005.Son of greeks him lived in Thrace, Greece at the village Komara for 10 years during his childhood.
Franz Anton is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006. He specialized in the C1 class from the start of his career. Between 2012 and 2018 he was also competing in the C2 class together with Jan Benzien.