Venue: Lee Valley White Water Centre
Dates: Sunday 29 July – Thursday 2 August
Medal events: 4
Athletes: 82
Modelled on slalom skiing, the first Canoe Slalom competition was held in Switzerland in 1932. The sport was staged on flat water during its early days, but was later switched to white water rapids.
Since becoming a permanent part of the Olympic programme 20 years ago in Barcelona, the sport has thrilled spectators at the Games with spectacular, non-stop action on the powerful, unforgiving water.
Canoe Slalom competitions consist of timed runs down a white water course, which contains up to 25 gates. Touching a gate adds a two-second time penalty to the run; missing a gate incurs a 50-second penalty. The time taken to run the course in seconds is added to penalty seconds incurred to give the overall time.
Within
the Canoe Slalom discipline there are events for both canoes and kayaks.
In canoe single (for one person) and canoe double (for two people) events, competitors use single-bladed paddles; in kayaks, competitors use paddles with blades at both ends. While the boats used in Canoe Sprint events are long and streamlined, Canoe Slalom boats are small, light and agile. The different shape allows for greater manoeuvrability through the rapids.
Canoe and kayak racing became full medal sports at the 1936 Berlin Games, but Canoe Slalom didn’t make its debut until the 1972 Munich Games and only became a permanent part of the Olympic programme in 1992. At London 2012, the Canoe Slalom competition will be held at Lee Valley White Water Centre, in a new, world-class facility located on the edge of the 1,000-acre River Lee Country Park.
See the London 2012 Olympic Games competition schedule
Contact your national association to find a local club and get information on development schemes for up-and-coming paddlers. For information, visit the websites of Canoe England, Canoe Scotland, the Welsh Canoeing Association, the Canoe Association of Northern Ireland and the International Canoe Federation.
The Lee Valley White Water Centre, located in Hertfordshire, will host the Canoe Slalom competition during the London 2012 Olympic Games. It opened to the public in spring 2011.
Name: David Florence
Date of birth: 08 August 1982
Country: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Name: Michal Martikan (White Water Slalom)
Date of birth: 18 May 1979
Country: Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia
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Name: Lizzie Neave
Date of birth: 12 June 1987
Country: Stone, UK
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