Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were contested in two main disciplines:

canoe slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater 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 river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of ...

, from 29 July to 2 August, and

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are s ...

, from 6 to 11 August. The slalom competition was held at the

Lee Valley White Water Centre Lee Valley White Water Centre (previously known as Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre) is a white-water slalom centre, that was constructed to host the canoe slalom events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. On 9 December 2010, Anne, Princess R ...

and the sprint events were staged at Eton College Rowing Centre, at

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of Wi ...

, known as Eton Dorney. Around 330 athletes took part in 16 events. The men's 500m sprints were replaced by a 200m race; in addition, the men's C-2 500m was replaced by a women's K-1 200m sprint. This was confirmed at an

International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliate ...

board meeting at

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west ...

, on 5 December 2009. For the first time, women competed in two individual events in sprint canoeing. Because of the changes, the finals were spread over a three-day period instead of the traditional two days which had been in effect since the 1976 Games. The most successful nation in the slalom was

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, with two gold medals in the four events, followed by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

with one gold and one silver. In the sprint,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

was the most successful with three gold, two silver and one bronze medal, while

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

topped the medal table overall, with three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

Qualification

A new qualification system was created for both slalom and sprint canoeing at the 2012 Games. The quotas were set for each event by the

in July 2010.

Competition schedule

Slalom canoeing 2012 Olympics W K1 AUS Jessica Fox

Medal summary

By event

Slalom

Sprint

Men ;Women * On 12 June 2019, the IOC stripped Lithuanian canoeist Jevgenij Shuklin of his silver medal.https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-sanctions-one-athlete-for-failing-anti-doping-tests-at-london-2012-2 IOC sanctions one athlete for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012

Gallery

Gallery of some of the gold medalists in the canoeing events: File:Tony Estanguet.jpg,

Tony Estanguet Tony Estanguet (born 6 May 1978 in Pau) is a French slalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1. He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012. Racing career Estanguet won three Olympic gold medals in the C1 event in ...

, pictured in 2006, won the men's C-1 slalom for France File:Slalom canoeing 2012 Olympics W K1 FRA Emilie Fer.jpg, Émilie Fer, also from France, pictured winning the women's K-1 slalom File:Sebastian Brendel.jpg,

Sebastian Brendel Sebastian Brendel (; born 12 March 1988) is a German sprint canoeist who has competed since 2007. Brendel is the 2016 Olympic champion in the C-1 1000 metres and C-2 1000 metres events. Career He has won three medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint Wo ...

, of Germany, won gold in the men's C-1 1,000m sprint File:David Smith.jpg, David Smith was part of the Australian team that won the men's K-4 1,000m sprint

By nation

References

External links

* * * * * {{coord, 51.6883, N, 0.0156, W, source:wikidata, display=title 2012 Summer Olympics events

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Olympics Canoeing and kayaking competitions in the United Kingdom