The fight to get canoe slalom onto the Olympic program in 1972 was long and difficult. A very determined West German federation had to convince the IOC the sport belonged, and then had to convince the committee to back Augsburg as the location. For months slalom's place on the Munich program was hotly debated.

Finally the breakthrough came - but then East German spies stepped in to spoil the moment for the host nation.

Canoe slalom was first introduced to the global Olympic audience in Munich in 1972, the culmination of a determined campaign by a very focused West German Canoe Federation, who refused to take no for an answer.

The German Federation and the International Canoe Federation were very fortunate to have in their corner German National Olympic Committee Secretary General, Walther Troger, who fought hard to have slalom included on the program.

After investigating several potential locations in and around Munich, it was determined the best location would be in Augsburg, approximately 60 kilometres from the Olympic village. But organisers still had to convince a skeptical IOC that the venue would work.

The introduction of canoe slalom was meant to showcase the strength of West Germany over East Germany. The West Germans spent 15 million deutsche mark building a whitewater stadium in Augsburg. As it was the only venue of its kind in the world, the hosts naturally believed they would have a major advantage at the Munich Olympics.

But the East Germans were not about to go down without a fight. They sent spies to the venue to assess its layout, and then set about building an exact replica in a city called Zwickau. They also built dormitories at the venue so the East Germans could train full time in preparation for the Games.

It proved to be a masterstroke, with the East Germans walking away with every single slalom gold medal on offer.

History shows canoe slalom was a tremendous success on Augsburg’s Eiskanal in 1972, but even though the sport proved it deserved its place on the Olympic program, it would not return until Barcelona in 1992.