Canoeing at the Summer Olympics

Canoeing has been featured as competition sports in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin, and they were also demonstration sports at the 1924 Games in Paris.^[1] There are two current disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.

Canoeing at the Summer Olympics
IOC Code	CSL (Canoe Slalom) CSP (Canoe Sprint) CMA (Canoe Marathon)
Governing body	ICF
Events	16 (men: 8; women: 8)
Summer Olympics
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028 2032 Note: demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated in italics
Medalists men women

Two styles of boats are used in this sport: canoes with 1 or 2 canoers and kayaks with 1, 2 or 4 kayakers. This leads to the name designation of each event. For example, "C-1" is a canoe singles event and "K-2" is a kayak doubles event. '"KX-1" denotes kayak cross. Races are usually 500 metres or 1000 metres long, although there were also 10 km events from 1936 to 1956. On 13 August 2009, it was announced by the International Canoe Federation that the men's 500 m events would be replaced at the 2012 Summer Olympics by 200 m events with one of them being K-1 200 m for the women. The other events for men at 200 m will be C-1, K-1, and K-2.^[2] This was confirmed at their 2009 Board of Directors meeting in Windsor, Berkshire, Great Britain on 5 December 2009.^[3] Kayak cross was introduced in the 2024 Summer Olympics.^[4]

Summary

See also: List of Olympic medalists in canoeing (men) and List of Olympic medalists in canoeing (women)

Key

  Canoeing was demonstration sport
  Canoeing events not held
  Olympic Games not held

Games Year Events Best Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1924 6  Canada (1) 9 10 11 1936 9  Austria (1) 12 13 14 1948 9  Sweden (1) 15 1952 9  Finland (1) 16 1956 9  Romania (1) 17 1960 7  Soviet Union (1)

Games Year Events Best Nation 18 1964 7  Soviet Union (2) 19 1968 7  Hungary (1) 20 1972 11  Soviet Union (3) 21 1976 11  Soviet Union (4) 22 1980 11  Soviet Union (5) 23 1984 12  New Zealand (1) 24 1988 12  East Germany (1) 25 1992 16  Germany (1) 26 1996 16  Germany (2) 27 2000 16  Hungary (2) 28 2004 16  Germany (3) 29 2008 16  Germany (4) 30 2012 16  Germany (5) 31 2016 16  Germany (6) 32 2020 16  Hungary (3) 33 2024 16  New Zealand (2)

Canoe sprint

Men's

Current programme

Event	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
C-1 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	21
C-2 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•				•	10
K-1 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	21
K-2 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•				•	10
K-4 500 m																				•	•	2

Past events

Event	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
C-1 200 m																		•	•			2
C-1 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•					9
C-2 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		20
K-1 200 m																		•	•	•		3
K-1 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•					9
K-1 4 × 500 m					•																	1
K-2 200 m																		•	•			2
K-2 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		20
K-4 1000 m						•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•			14
Total	4	5	5	5	7	7	7	7	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	10

Women's

Event	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
C-1 200 m																				•	•	2
C-2 500 m																				•	•	2
K-1 500 m		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	20
K-2 500 m					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	17
K-4 500 m											•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
K-1 200 m																		•	•	•		3

Medal table

Source:^[5]
Last updated after the 2024 Paris Olympics. Note that this table includes both canoe sprint and canoe marathon medals.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	31	18	17	66
2	Soviet Union	29	13	9	51
3	Hungary	28	35	30	93
4	Sweden	15	11	4	30
5	New Zealand	13	2	2	17
6	Romania	10	10	14	34
7	East Germany	10	7	8	25
8	Norway	6	4	4	14
9	Czechoslovakia	6	3	1	10
10	Canada	5	11	12	28
11	Spain	5	10	8	23
12	United States	5	4	4	13
13	Finland	5	2	3	10
14	China	5	2	0	7
15	Italy	4	8	3	15
16	Australia	4	6	12	22
17	Bulgaria	4	5	8	17
18	United Team of Germany	4	5	2	11
19	Czech Republic	4	1	3	8
20	Denmark	3	6	8	17
21	Austria	3	4	5	12
22	Ukraine	3	4	4	11
23	Great Britain	3	1	5	9
24	Russia	2	4	6	12
25	Belarus	2	3	4	9
26	West Germany	2	3	2	7
27	Yugoslavia	2	2	1	5
28	France	1	6	11	18
29	Brazil	1	3	1	5
	Cuba	1	3	1	5
31	Unified Team	1	1	0	2
32	Poland	0	7	14	21
33	Netherlands	0	3	5	8
34	Slovakia	0	3	2	5
35	Latvia	0	2	0	2
36	Moldova	0	1	2	3
37	Azerbaijan	0	1	1	2
	Portugal	0	1	1	2
39	Serbia	0	1	0	1
	Switzerland	0	1	0	1
41	Israel	0	0	1	1
	Lithuania	0	0	1	1
	South Africa	0	0	1	1
Totals (43 entries)		217	217	220	654

Canoe slalom

Events

Current program
Event	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
Men's C-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Men's K-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Men’s KX-1														•	1
Women's C-1													•	•	2
Women's K-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Women’s KX-1														•	1
Past events
Event	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
Men's C-2	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•			8
Total	4	0	0	0	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6

Medal table

Source:^[6]
Last updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	France	8	5	8	21
2	Slovakia	8	4	4	16
3	Germany	5	3	9	17
4	Australia	4	3	3	10
5	East Germany	4	0	1	5
6	Czech Republic	3	5	3	11
7	Italy	3	0	1	4
8	Great Britain	2	9	3	14
9	United States	1	2	3	6
10	Slovenia	1	2	0	3
11	Spain	1	1	2	4
12	Czechoslovakia	1	1	0	2
	New Zealand	1	1	0	2
14	West Germany	0	3	1	4
15	Poland	0	2	0	2
16	Austria	0	1	1	2
17	Japan	0	0	1	1
	Russia	0	0	1	1
	Togo	0	0	1	1
Totals (19 entries)		42	42	42	126

Canoe marathon

Canoe marathon at the Summer Olympics
IOC Code	CMA
Events	6 (men: 6; women: 0)
Summer Olympics
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028 2032

Men's races of 10,000 metres were held from 1936 to 1956 and were considered canoe marathons, separate from the sprint and slalom disciplines.^[7]

Men's

Past events

Event	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Total
C-1 10000 m		•	•	•																		3
C-2 10000 m	•	•	•	•																		4
K-1 10000 m	•	•	•	•																		4
K-2 10000 m	•	•	•	•																		4
Folding K-1 10000 m	•																					1
Folding K-2 10000 m	•																					1
Total	5	4	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Overall medal table

Updated after 2024

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Germany	36	21	26	83
2	Soviet Union	29	13	9	51
3	Hungary	28	35	30	93
4	Sweden	15	11	4	30
5	East Germany	14	7	9	30
6	New Zealand	14	3	2	19
7	Romania	10	10	14	34
8	France	9	11	19	39
9	Australia	8	9	15	32
10	Slovakia	8	7	6	21
11	Italy	7	8	4	19
12	Czech Republic	7	6	6	19
13	Czechoslovakia	7	4	1	12
14	United States	6	6	7	19
15	Norway	6	4	4	14
16	Canada	5	11	12	28
17	Great Britain	5	10	8	23
	Spain	5	10	8	23
19	Finland	5	2	3	10
20	China	5	2	0	7
21	Bulgaria	4	5	8	17
22	United Team of Germany	4	5	2	11
23	Denmark	3	6	8	17
24	Austria	3	5	6	14
25	Ukraine	3	4	4	11
26	West Germany	2	6	3	11
27	Russia	2	4	7	13
28	Belarus	2	3	4	9
29	Yugoslavia	2	2	1	5
30	Brazil	1	3	1	5
	Cuba	1	3	1	5
32	Slovenia	1	2	0	3
33	Unified Team	1	1	0	2
34	Poland	0	9	14	23
35	Netherlands	0	3	5	8
36	Latvia	0	2	0	2
37	Moldova	0	1	2	3
38	Azerbaijan	0	1	1	2
	Portugal	0	1	1	2
40	Serbia	0	1	0	1
	Switzerland	0	1	0	1
42	Israel	0	0	1	1
	Japan	0	0	1	1
	Lithuania	0	0	1	1
	South Africa	0	0	1	1
	Togo	0	0	1	1
Totals (46 entries)		258	258	260	776

Nations

Nation	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Algeria																													1	1	2
Andorra																										1			1	1	3
Angola																										1	2			2	3
Antigua and Barbuda																							3								1
Argentina																				1	8	5	4	3	2	2	3	10	4	2	11
Australia													8	7	10	6	7	8	5	9	8	17	23	21	16	16	20	18	16	15	18
Austria										9	7	7	7	10	5	4	12	2	6	2		4	3	4	2	4	4	2	5	2	20
Armenia																								1							1
Azerbaijan																											3	4			2
Belarus																							4	5	9	8	12	12	12		7
Belgium										9	9	4	2	4	2	3	8	11	6	5	2	2	3	1	3	2	4	1	4	3	21
Belize																													1		1
Bolivia															1	1															2
Bosnia and Herzegovina																						1	1		1						3
Brazil																						6	3	4	2	2	3	13	5	8	9
Bulgaria														5	2	3	7	12	12		12	11	11	7	7	2	1	2	1	1	16
Canada							(D)			8	7	11	9	6	6	10	12	14		15	14	18	21	16	19	21	8	9	18	15	21
Chile																									1	1			2	2	4
China																				4	4	4	8		15	23	18	10	18	17	10
Chinese Taipei																													1	3	2
Cook Islands																											2	2	3		3
Colombia																														1	1
Comoros																														1	1
Costa Rica																						4	2								2
Croatia																						4	4	4	3	2	1		3	2	8
Cuba																	2		3			5		3	4	4	6	6	5	3	10
Czech Republic																							25	19	10	7	11	12	9	9	8
Czechoslovakia										13	13	13	5	10	4	5	23	11	9		9	27									12
Denmark										4	7	9	7	9	7	5	6	1	1	1	6	6	4	3	2	4	5	5	4	6	21
East Germany																12	26	11	13		15										5
Ecuador																											1	1			2
Egypt																											1	2	2	1	4
Estonia																						1	1	1							3
Finland										3	5	10	6	9	3	5	4	7	4	5	3	2	1	1	2	4	2				18
France										3	10	13	6	9	2	6	14	13	11	14	16	31	19	14	13	15	14	15	13	13	21
Georgia																												1			1
Germany										14		10										29	27	25	26	22	21	16	21	21	21
Great Britain										3	7	7	3	7	5	10	20	11	11	15	17	25	17	12	9	7	15	11	8	4	21
Greece																								1	6	3	1				4
Guam																										1				1	2
Guatemala																							1								1
Hong Kong																		6		7	2	2									4
Hungary										5	5	12	13	9	10	10	12	14	16		16	14	19	15	16	16	13	18	18	15	20
Independent Olympic Participants																						5									1
Indonesia																						3			1						2
Iran																								1			2		1	2	4
Ireland																	4	4	2	1	4	5	6	3	2	1	3		1	3	13
Israel																				1			1	5	3	1					5
Italy										1		6		12	4	2	10	11	5	7	5	18	15	8	8	16	8	4	7	6	19
Ivory Coast																3	5			4	2	2	2			1					7
Japan															12	2	5	3		5	8	6	8	2	5	9	8	5	12	3	15
Kazakhstan																							8	4	3	7	5	13	7	6	8
Kyrgyzstan																							2								1
Latvia																						3	3	1	1	3	2	2	1	5	9
Lebanon																												1			1
Lithuania																						1	2	3	3	4	2	6	1		8
Luxembourg										3	3	4		3																	4
North Macedonia																							3	1	1	1					4
Malaysia																							1								1
Mexico																12	7	4		2		4	6	2		3	1	1	1	3	12
Moldova																							4					1	3	3	4
Morocco																								1			1	1	2	2	5
Mozambique																												1	1		2
Myanmar																										1					1
Netherlands										9	7	5		4	5	7	2	2	6	3	2	4	2		2	2			1	3	17
New Zealand																	2	4	3	6	7	8	1		2	5	8	9	8	13	13
Nigeria																											1	1	1	2	4
Norway										1	4	4	1	2		5	6	7		13	7	7	5	4	6	1	2		1	4	18
Refugee Olympic Team																									1
Palau																												1			1
Panama																							1								1
Peru																						1									1
Poland										2	3		4	6	9	8	23	13	15		12	18	23	21	23	21	13	15	13	16	19
Portugal																					3	7	6	1	1	4	6	7	8	4	10
Refugee Olympic Team																													1		1
Romania												1	5	11	11	11	11	13	14	14	5	14	14	13	10	5	11	8	2	3	19
Russia																							14	12	8	14	21	19	17		6
Saar												3																			1
Samoa																										1	1	1	3	2	5
São Tomé and Príncipe																										1		1	2	1	4
Senegal																										2	1	3	1	2	5
Serbia																											12	10	3	8	4
Serbia and Montenegro																							1	6	2						3
Seychelles																									1	1					2
Singapore																											1			1	2
Slovakia																							17	19	16	12	12	12	9	4	8
Slovenia																						6	5	4	4	3	6	6	6	4	9
South Africa																						11	1	2	1	10	2	1		5	8
South Korea																				2	15	6	2	1		1		2	1		8
Soviet Union												13	9	12	13	11	15	15	15		17										9
Spain														2		5	4	7	5	10	11	22	19	17	14	10	8	11	15	19	16
Sweden										9	9	10	6	6	7	11	10	11	12	11	11	13	12	10	5	3	6	5	3	5	21
Switzerland										9	6	7		4			6		3	4	1	6	8	3	4	1	2		3	2	16
Thailand																											1		1		2
Togo																									1	1	1				3
Tunisia																											3	3	4	2	4
Turkey																												1			1
Ukraine																							13	11	7	6	2	9	11	8	8
United Team of Germany													10	10	12																3
Unified Team																						19									1
United States							(D)			10	8	9	12	13	11	12	26	16		16	16	32	25	14	17	7	7	6	4	5	21
Uruguay																						1			1					1	3
Uzbekistan																							17	1	7	1	2	4	2	3	7
Venezuela																										3					1
Vietnam																									1					1	2
West Germany																13	28	13		15	14										5
Yugoslavia										4		1		3	4	2	13	1	3	3	3										10
No. of nations																															94
No. of athletes
Year	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24

See also

• List of Olympic venues in canoeing
• Paracanoe at the Summer Paralympics