Blog Posts: #ICFslalom
The all seeing eye of the judge
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
Flash Quotes: Canoe Single (C1) Men: BENUS (SVK)
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
The mental game
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
Canoe slalom by the numbers
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
Feel The Ultimate Run
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
Nigeria's sole paddler had to leave his coach and kayak behind
RIO DE JANEIRO - Nigeria's first and only Olympic paddler Johnathan AKINYEMI (NGR) is in no doubt about his priorities after leaving his boat and father-turned-coach stranded in Frankfurt Airport on his way to Rio 2016.
“I felt a little bit guilty about abandoning my dad,” AKINYEMI said after training at the Whitewater Stadium. “But I have to say I missed the kayak more."
All three components of the Nigerian canoe slalom team had spent an anxious 36 hours in the German hub after a delayed flight from their home airport of Manchester meant a missed...Read more
Junior and U23 paddlers on the rise
Today’s post looks at the recent ICF Junior & U23 World Championships as well as previous results to see what this can tell us about future Olympics medallists.
I wrote the following Most Promising Paddler Award post on August 2, 2012.
“I suggested that it was not a question on whether Australia’s young 18-year-old Junior World Champion would win a medal, only at which Olympics and what colour. For her to win a silver medal this afternoon at Lee Valley during London2012 is truly mind blowing. She won the Junior World Championship only last month in...Read more
Rio Canoe Slalom Athletes
The athletes are really the heart of the Olympics. Here we provide some insights into the paddlers that are representing their nation at the Deodoro canoe slalom.
From my experience, these paddlers have been in the top end of the sport for about 13 years or more, at a team level for more than 10. The average age in this K1M class is 25. Olympics medallists have usually competed at a previous Olympics and have likely medalled at a previous World Championship or World Cup level. Many were successful junior athletes before they progressed into under 23 and seniors...Read more
Canoe slalom technique and terminology
Today’s attention shifts to describing features of the slalom course and the techniques used to negotiate it. You can refer to the last two posts exploring the kayak classes and canoe classes.
The basics of canoe slalom techniques
The goal for the slalom paddler is to race as fast as possible from the start line to finish line, negotiating up to 25 slalom gates without touching them. The gates must be negotiated in numerical order...Read more
Olympic canoe slalom - canoe classes
Today we examine the canoe classes. C1M is an excellent way of analysing canoe slalom. C2M is spectacular to watch as these big boats, with two paddlers, squeeze their way through narrow slalom gates on big whitewater. Here we look at the equipment, pros and cons and some top paddlers past and present.
C1M – Canadian Men’s Single
C1M is pronounced see-one men, meaning a male athlete kneeling in a closed cockpit canoe with a single bladed paddle.
The C1 paddler kneels on pre-formed padded foam blocks inside the...Read more
