 Canoeing at the2024 Summer Olympics | |
| Highestgoverning body | International Canoe Federation |
|---|---|
| Presence | |
| Olympic | 1936–present |
| Paralympic | 2016-present |
| World Games | Canoe polo: 2005–present |
Canoeing is an activity which involvespaddling acanoe with a single-bladedpaddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing andkayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' orCanadian.
A few of the recreational forms of canoeing arecanoe camping andcanoe racing. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds and streams.
Canoeing is an ancient mode of transportation.[1] Modern recreational canoeing was established in the late 19th century. Among early promoters of canoeing as a sport wasCarl Smith, who introduced canoeing to Sweden in the 1880s. In 1924, canoeing associations from Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden founded theInternationalen Representation for Kanusport, the forerunner of theInternational Canoe Federation (ICF).[2]
Canoeing became part of theOlympic Games in the1936 Summer Olympics.[3][4] which featuredcanoe sprint using asprint canoe.[5] Others competitive disciplines includecanoe polo,whitewater canoeing,canoe marathon,ICF canoe marathon, andplayboating.[6]
More than 170 national canoe associations and federations are members of the ICF, including theAmerican,Canadian,British,Scottish, andWelsh.[7]
Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking,[8][9] with a canoe being called an open canoe[10] or Canadian.[11]
Recreational forms of canoeing includecanoe camping. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds, and streams.
Competitive forms of canoeing include canoe racing such as canoe sprint andcanoe marathons. Thesummer Olympics includecanoeing competitions.Canoe slalom (previously known aswhitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on the riverrapids 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 or canoe/kayak slalom.[12] The other Olympic canoeing discipline is the canoe sprint.
In his lifetime, according to theGuinness Book of World Records,Verlen Kruger paddled the most miles (over 100,000 miles) of anyone in the sport.[13]
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