Canoeing/Kayaking in the Olympics
by John Rich

The 2012 Olympic sporting events are coming up soon in London, England, and stories have started appearing in the news headlines.  The sporting events, held only every four years, will take place July 27 through Aug 12, 2012.

Canoeing and kayaking have two categories in the Olympics:
• Slalom: Maneuvering through a whitewater obstacle course, and;
• Sprint: Flatwater speed runs.

Each event has sub-categories for type of boat (canoes or kayaks), men versus women, single paddlers and multiple paddlers, and the sprints also have events with different distances.  Oddly, the women's events include only kayak sports, and nothing with canoes - only the men get to compete in canoes...

Click the below links to review the venue, calender, videos of event runs, action photos of competitors, equipment and history.

	Birgit Fischer

You can also learn about the competitors, like Germany's Birgit Fischer, a kayaking legend and one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time. During her Olympic career she has claimed 12 medals (8 golds and 4 silvers), and she has competed in 6 different Olympic Games. Fischer is the most decorated kayaking athlete and the only woman to have won Olympic medals 20 years apart.

Links:
Slalom: www.olympic.org/canoe-kayak-slalom
Sprint:   www.olympic.org/canoe-kayak-flatwater

Olympic rings		Slalom course		Sprint

The author, John Rich, practicing for the mini-canoe races