// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did canoeing make the Olympics cut? It was a paddle above the rest.

Canoe marathon at the Summer Olympics
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;

Canoeing at the Summer Olympics
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; ;

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.

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

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)
34	2028	16

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	28	Total
C-1 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	22
C-2 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•				•	•	11
K-1 1000 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	22
K-2 500 m									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•				•	•	11
K-4 500 m																				•	•	•	3

Past events
Event	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	28	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	10

Women's

Event	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	28	Total
C-1 200 m																			•	•	•	3
C-2 500 m																			•	•	•	3
K-1 500 m	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	21
K-2 500 m				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	18
K-4 500 m										•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
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
29	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
37	Portugal	0	1	1	2
39	Serbia	0	1	0	1
39	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

Event	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	28	Total
Current program
Men's C-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
Men's K-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
Men’s KX-1														•	•	2
Women's C-1													•	•	•	3
Women's K-1	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
Women’s KX-1														•	•	2
Past events
Event	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	28	Total
Men's C-2	•					•	•	•	•	•	•	•				8
Total	4	0	0	0	0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	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
12	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

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	28	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	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
17	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
30	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
38	Portugal	0	1	1	2
40	Serbia	0	1	0	1
40	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	^a	7
Belgium										9	9	4	2	4	2	3	8	11	6	5	2	2	3	1	3	2	4	1	4	2	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
Individual Neutral Athletes																														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
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	4	2
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	^b	^a	6
ROC																													17		1
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

Notes:
^a: Due to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine in violation of the Olympic Truce, the Russian Federation and Belarus were banned from sending athletes to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Russian and Belarusian athletes competed under the designation of Individual Neutral Athletes and are listed separately.
^b: Due to the Russian doping scandal, the Russian Federation was not permitted to send athletes to the 2020 Summer Olympics; athletes instead competed under the acronym "ROC" ("Russian Olympic Committee") and are listed separately.

References

↑ Olympic sprint events
↑ "IOC announcement of canoe sprint format changes for the 2012 Summer Olympics". International Canoe Federation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
↑ "The Board of Directors Wrap Up in Windsor." - International Canoe Federation (5 December 2009) - accessed 18 December 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
↑ "Explained: What is Kayak Cross?". www.teamgb.com. Team GB. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
↑ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
↑ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
↑ "Canoe Marathon". olympedia.org.

[1] Olympic sprint events

[2] "IOC announcement of canoe sprint format changes for the 2012 Summer Olympics". International Canoe Federation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.

[3] "The Board of Directors Wrap Up in Windsor." - International Canoe Federation (5 December 2009) - accessed 18 December 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}

[4] "Explained: What is Kayak Cross?". www.teamgb.com. Team GB. Retrieved 7 August 2024.

[5] "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

[6] "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

[cma-7] "Canoe Marathon". olympedia.org.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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[7]

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Traditional boats	Aleutian kayak Cayuco Chundan vallam Dugout Fur brigade Outrigger canoe Pacific Northwest Rabaska Sturgeon-nosed canoe Taimen Umiak Waka War canoe Swan boat
Techniques	Canoe paddle strokes Eskimo Rescue Kayak roll Portage
Equipment	Albano buoy system Outrigger Paddle Paddle float Paddle leash Royalex Sea sock Spray deck Tuilik
Venues	Artificial whitewater Canoeing and kayaking venues
Competitions	List of world records in canoeing Adirondack Canoe Classic Au Sable River Canoe Marathon Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon Dusi Canoe Marathon Hawkesbury Canoe Classic Liffey Descent Canoe Race Massive Murray Paddle National Student Rodeo Thameside Series Waterside Series Riverland Paddling Marathon
Festivals	Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Duanwu Festival Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York Houston Dragon Boat Festival Lethbridge Dragon Boat Festival Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival
Governing bodies	European Canoe Association American Canoe Association Paddle Australia Paddle UK British Dragon Boat Racing Association Canoe Kayak Canada Canoe Wales Croatian Canoe Federation Israel Canoe Association Scottish Canoe Association Portuguese Canoe Federation
Other organisations	Canadian Canoe Museum International Dragon Boat Federation Sir Alexander Mackenzie Canada Sea-to-Sea Bicentennial Expeditions UK Rivers Access Campaign
Media	La Chasse-galerie Paddle-to-the-Sea (film) The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes Waterwalker
Outline

Summary

Canoe sprint

Men's

Women's

Medal table

Canoe slalom

Events

Medal table

Canoe marathon

Men's

Overall medal table

Nations

See also

References