OLYMPIC HISTORY

Canoe sprint was officially welcomed onto the Olympic program in 1936 in Berlin, 12 years after it had been a demonstration sport at the 2024 Games in Paris. The sport has been at every Olympics since then, although there have been changes to the race program.

In 1936, there were four men's races contested - the C1 1000, the C2 1000, the K1 1000 and the K2 1000. There were also five 10,000 metre races for men in Berlin, but there were no women's events at all on the program. However a K1 500 race for women was added to the program for the next Olympics, in 1948 in London.

The last 10,000 metre Olympic canoe sprint race was contested in Melbourne in 1956. In 1960 in Rome there was a men's K1 4 x 500 metre relay, but it was a once-off. 

In Tokyo in 2020 there will be an equal amount of races for both men and women for the first time in Canoe Sprint at an Olympic Games - six in each. Women's C1 200 and C2 500 have been added to the program, while the men's C1 200 and K2 200 have both been dropped after being introduced at the 2012 London Olympics.

CURRENT EVENTS

In Tokyo there will be the following events;

MEN: C1 1000, C2 1000, K1 200, K1 1000, K2 1000, K4 500.

WOMEN: C1 200, C2 500, K1 200, K1 500, K2 500, K4 500.

MOST SUCCESSFUL

Germany has won more Olympic gold medals than any other nation in canoe sprint and slalom, with 32 overall. Former East Germany also won 14 gold medals.

Hungary has won the most medals overall, with 80, although Germany and East Germany combined have 100 medals altogether.