Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Canoeing at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
Pictograms for slalom (left) and sprint (right)
Venue	Lee Valley White Water Centre (slalom) Eton Dorney (sprint)
Dates	29 July to 2 August for slalom 6 to 11 August for sprint
Competitors	330
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The canoeing races at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were contested in two main disciplines: the slalom, from 29 July to 2 August, and the sprint, from 6 to 11 August. The slalom competition was held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre and the sprint events were staged at Eton College Rowing Centre, at Dorney Lake, 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 board meeting at Windsor, Berkshire, 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, with two gold medals in the four events, followed by Great Britain with one gold and one silver. In the sprint, Hungary was the most successful with three gold, two silver and one bronze medal, while Germany topped the medal table overall, with three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

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 International Canoe Federation in July 2010.

Men

Gallery of some of the gold medalists in the canoeing events:

Tony Estanguet, pictured in 2006, won the men's C-1 slalom for France