Whitewater Slalom (Canoe slalom through a course of hanging gates on since November 2008) is a competitive sport where the aim is to navigate a decked canoe or kayakriver rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as “canoe slalom”. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. There is also wildwater, a non-Olympic paddlesport.
Slalom canoeing made its Olympic debut in 1972 in Augsburg, W. Germany. It was not seen again until 1992 in Seu d’Urgell as part of the Barcelona games. Since then, slalom paddling has been a regular at the Olympics.
1972: Augsburg, W. Germany
1992: La Seu d’Urgell, Spain
1996: Ocoee River, U.S.A.
2000: Penrith, Australia
2004: Athens, Greece
2008: Shunyi, China
2012: FUTURE: Broxbourne, England
