Canoe Sprint

The beginning of this sport’s story dates back to 1840, when John McGregor from Scotland built an innovative canoe called Rob Roy, considered the predecessor of the current kayak. John navigated through several European and Middle Eastern countries in 1840 and little by little, disseminated his new boat.

The first time the canoe sprint event was included in the Olympic programme was at 1936 Games in Berlin. Since then, the sport has always featured in the Olympics.

Canoe sprint, which uses kayaks or canoes, is a purely competition sport. It is practiced on rivers or lakes with calm waters, with nine lanes outlined in distances of 1,000, 500 and 200 metres.

In the kayak, the athlete sits down and uses a double paddle. In the canoe, the athlete kneels down on the canoe’s floor and uses a single bladed paddle. The different boat categories are standardised by the International Canoe Federation as follows:

K1
Individual kayak, at the most 5.20 metres long and weighing a minimum of 12 kilos.

K2
Kayak for pairs, at the most 6.50 metres long and weighing a minimum of 18 kilos.

K4
Kayak for four people, at the most 11 metres long and weighing a minimum of 30 kilos.

C1
Individual canoe, at the most 5.20 metres long and weighing a minimum of 16 kilos.

C2
Canoe for pairs, at the most 6.50 metres long and weighing a minimum of 20 kilos.

C4
Canoe for four people, at the most 11 metres long and weighing a minimum of 50 kilos.

Curiosities

A German phenomenon

Birgit Fischer from Germany is considered one of the biggest Olympic athletes of all times.  A canoe sprint athlete, between the Games in Moscow 1980 and Athens 2004 she won 12 medals, eight of them gold.

The Swedish legend

Among the men, Gert Fredriksson from Sweden, who passed away in 2006 at the age of eighty-six, is the biggest Olympic canoe sprint champion in history. Between the Games in London 1948 and Rome 1960, Gert won eight medals, six gold, one silver and a bronze.

See also

Brazilian Canoe Confederation (CBCa)
www.canoagem.org.br

International Canoe Federation (ICF)
www.canoeicf.com