2009 ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships
Official logo for the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
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| Host city | Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada |
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| Nations participating | 68 |
| Athletes participating | 669 |
| Events | 27 + 8 exhibitions |
| Opening ceremony | 12 August |
| Closing ceremony | 16 August |
| Main venue | Lake Banook |
| Website | Official website |
The 2009 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The Canadian city was selected to host the championships in October 2003 after having done so previously in 1997. Final preparations were made after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, with competition format changed for the first time since the 2001 championships. Four exhibition events for both paddleability and women's canoe were added. Sponsorship was local within the province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Media coverage was provided from Canada, Europe and the United States on the Internet, television and mobile phone. 669 canoeists from 68 nations participated at the championships themselves.
Germany won the most medals with 18 medals and seven golds. Men's canoe's overall winner was Russia with seven medals (one gold, five silver and one bronze). In men's kayak, the big winner was Germany with five medals (three golds, one silver and one bronze). Hungary won medals in all nine events of women's kayak. Athlete comments ranged from disgust over the format adjustment made to the canoe sprint program for the 2012 Summer Olympics to not being upset at all. Paddleability's success at these championships will hopefully push for inclusion into future Paralympic level events.
Canoe sprint competitions are broken up into Canadian canoe (C), an open canoe with a single-blade paddle, or in kayaks (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. Each canoe or kayak can hold one person (1), two people (2), or four people (4). For each of the specific canoes or kayaks, such as a K-1 (kayak single), the competition distances can be 200 metres (660 ft), 500 metres (1,600 ft), or 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) long. When a competition is listed as a C-2 500 m event as an example, it means two people are in a canoe competing at a 500 metres (1,600 ft) distance.
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