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Sprint Canoeing and Kayaking at the Olympics

Canoe and Kayak races at the Olympic Games are held on flat water with competitors assigned to lanes. There are single, double and four boats. The kayak boats on the program are identified by the letter “K” while the canoes are prefixed by a “C”, with the following number indicating the number of paddlers.

kayaking Olympic kayaking

Below is a list of all the events that are currently on the Olympic program. Sprint paddling events have been contested since 1936.

Sprint Paddling Events at the 2021 Tokyo Games

Since the previous Games, there have been changes to the sprint canoe and kayak program, so now there is an equal number of events for men and women, the move part of the Olympics' move towards gender equality. The kayak boats are identified by the letter “K” while the canoes are prefixed by a “C”, with the following number indicating the number of paddlers.

Men's C-1 1000 m
Men's C-2 1000 m
Men's K-1 200 m
Men's K-1 1000 m
Men's K-2 1000 m
Men's K-4 500 m

Women's C-1 200 m
Women's C-2 500 m
Women's K-1 200 m
Women's K-1 500 m
Women's K-2 500 m
Women's K-4 500 m



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