Today we continue the theme of looking at the different roles of those that make Olympic canoe slalom a success. Here we focus on the role of the Judge and explain in more depth the rules of canoe slalom.

To win a medal the paddler needs to be fast and likely clean, meaning no penalties. As the run times have continued to get shorter the possibility to win or medal with a 2-second penalty is unusual. The Canadian Men's Doubles, C2M, presents a unique challenge for the Judges. Both paddlers must negotiate the gate without either paddler touching the poles. It is...Read more

Today’s posts look both at the important role of the coach and behind the scenes of how the event is judged.

The coach plays a pivotal role in supporting the athlete towards that Ultimate Run. This is not a short-term partnership as the coach and athlete will have spent years working together to hone their performance.

The coach is one member of the athletes' support team that extends to sports psychologists, physiotherapists, dieticians, personal trainers and managers.

Each of the major nation’s competing at Deodoro starting on...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - Comments from K1 paddlers Bryden NICHOLAS (COK) and Ella NICHOLAS (COK) after training at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park on Wednesday.

Bryden NICHOLAS (COK)

On representing his home country:

"We are very proud of our country. It's a beautiful country. You could ask any Cook Islander where's the best place on earth and they will all say the Cook Islands.

"For the Cook Island people back home, I think it means a lot to have us representing them."

On their profession:

"We are...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - Comments from men's C2 paddlers Anderson OLIVEIRA (BRA) and Charles CORREA (BRA) after training at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park on Thursday.

Anderson OLIVEIRA (BRA)

On representing Brazil in his home Olympic Games:

"It is almost unexplainable. It is a very unique feeling to be able to represent my own country in my first Olympics here in Rio de Janeiro.

"I am really excited about the legacy that this event can bring to the community, not only with the course but the fact there is going to be...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - By the numbers for the canoe slalom competition which begins on Sunday 7 August at the Whitewater Stadium.

1972 - Canoe slalom was first part of the Olympic programme at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games. Athletes from former Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) won all four gold medals. Canoe slalom was dropped from the programme for 20 years, returning in 1992.

36 - Elena KALISKA (SVK) is the oldest athlete to have won a gold medal in Olympic canoe slalom (as a 36-year-old). She did so in the women's K1 at the...Read more

We can assume the paddlers at the Olympics are all at the peak of their fitness. We can assume they have all mastered advanced whitewater skills and technique such that there is little to choose between them. So what will make the Olympic champions?

We interviewed Jonathan Males Ph.D. Males is a sports psychologist who has worked with athletes and coaches across the last seven Olympic games. He is the author of In the Flow, a book on performance psychology for paddle sports....Read more

Rici Funk (GER:K1W) helps us understand what it would feel to race on the Rio course.

Yesterday, we highlighted U23 paddlers on the rise. 24-year-old Funk world ranking has risen from 31 in 2012 to number 4. This makes it all the more disappointing to know that she is not racing at the Rio Olympics. Funk won the semi-final at the November Deodoro test event in 106.69 seconds clear and she currently leads the 2016 World Cup series. I predict we will see Funk at her best at next year’s ICF World Championships as we start the next Olympic cycle.

...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - New Zealand paddler Mike DAWSON is hoping his second Olympic Games will be less of a family affair than his first, when his father protested his mother's awarding of a time penalty for touching a gate.

"At London 2012 I had quite a unique experience as my mum was a judge and she happened to give me a two-second penalty," DAWSON said after training at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park.

"I touched the pole with the back of my life jacket so I didn't think I had actually touched it. My dad, Les, who was my team manager and coach, protested that touch...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - Comments from top-ranked Men's C1 paddler Matej BENUS (SVK) after training at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park on Wednesday.

Matej BENUS (SVK)

On the absence of two other high-ranked Slovakian C1 paddlers from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:

"The journey has been hard because we have a lot of good C1s in our country.

"It is has been difficult to fight against Michal MARTIKAN (SVK) but there is not only Michal, there is another top C1 paddler Alexander SLAFKOVSKY (SVK) in our selection. There were three...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO - Comments from canoe slalom paddlers Mike DAWSON (NZL) and Luuka JONES (NZL) and New Zealand coach Campbell WALSH (GBR) at a press conference at the Main Press Centre on Tuesday.

Mike DAWSON (NZL)

On why wind makes canoe slalom difficult:

"When it gets windy it's probably the only weather condition that it's hard to compete in slalom. It just adds a whole other dimension of variability to the run."

Luuka JONES (NZL)

On the course at Whitewater Stadium:...Read more