Aussie golden girl Jess Fox returns to Olympics with the aim of defending her C1 title, while sister Noemie Fox joins the Paddle Team for her Olympic debut.
Overview
Australia has a 15-strong team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a historic mix of experience and youth.
With a proud history in the sport, the Australian’s will be looking to build on their Olympic medal tally, having already secured six medals between them.
For the Canoe Slalom, four-time Olympian and Tokyo gold medalist Jess Fox will be on the water with sister Noemie in the women’s competition. Jess won silver in London (kayak single), bronze in Rio (kayak single) and both gold (C1) and bronze (kayak single) in Tokyo. For the men, both Tim Anderson and Tristan Carter will be making their Olympic debut.
Canoe Sprint is an area of success for Australia and one where the team has a strong chance of medals in Paris.
Gold medalists Jean van der Westhuyzen and Thomas Green will be back alongside six debutants, while Aly Bull and Alyce Wood equalling the most Australian Olympic appearances for Australia for sprint canoe women with Anna Wood (1992-2000).
Ones to Watch
Noemie Fox will be making her first Olympic appearance in the newly introduced Canoe Slalom discipline of Kayak Cross. Hailing from a celebrated French-Australian Olympic Canoe family, Noemie secured her spot with a silver medal at the 2024 Canoe Slalom World Cup. She will be the first Australian to compete and is eyeing the podium.
Internationally, athletes from Poland, Germany and Hungary dominate the world rankings.
Sport Format
CANOE SLALOM
The Canoe Slalom at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games consists of three men’s events and three women’s events: Kayak (K1), Canoe (C1), and Kayak Cross (X1).
Kayak single and canoe single competition consists of heats (two runs), semifinal (one run) and final (one run).
Kayak cross competition consists of qualification phase (time trial, round one and repechage) and elimination (heats, quarterfinal, semifinal, final and small final).
Race distance and duration:
Kayak single and canoe single
Gates: minimum 18, maximum 25 (six or eight must be upstream). The gates must be numbered in the order of negotiation, starting from one.
Start to finish distance: minimum 150m, maximum 400m.
The fastest run time is approximately 95 seconds.
KAYAK CROSS
The course must consist of four to six downstream gates and where possible two pairs of upstream gates should be set to allow the athlete to choose to negotiate either up right or up left. The gates must be numbered in the order of negotiation, starting from one.
The course must contain a marked roll zone or a roll barrier.
The fastest run time is approximately forty-five to eighty seconds, depending on the course design.
Gates
In kayak single and canoe single, the gate poles are painted with red and white rings if the gate must be negotiated upstream, or with green and white rings if the gate must be negotiated downstream.
The gate numbers are also crossed with a red diagonal line on the side opposite to that of correct negotiation.
The complete head of the competitor and a part of the boat must simultaneously cross the line between the poles in the correct direction for the gate, and in accordance with the course plan.
In kayak cross, the gate buoys are solid green for downstream negotiation and solid red for upstream negotiation. As in kayak single or canoe single, the gate number indicates the correct side of negotiation. An additional arrow is displayed on each buoy to confirm the correct way of negotiation. The complete head, both shoulders of the competitor and a part of the boat must simultaneously cross the gate line for a valid negotiation.
CANOE SPRINT
There will be 10 canoe sprint events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games:
- Men’s 1000m Kayak Single (MK1)
- Women’s 500m Kayak Single (WK1)
- Men’s 500m Kayak Double (MK2)
- Women’s 500m Kayak Double (WK2)
- Men’s 500m Kayak 4 (MK4)
- Women’s 500m Kayak 4 (WK4)
- Men’s 1000m Canoe single (MC1)
- Women’s 200m Canoe single (WC1)
- Men’s 500m Canoe Double (MC2)
- Women’s 500m Canoe Double (WC2)
The fastest boat to the finish line wins.
Competition Schedule
Canoe Sprint kicks off on Tuesday 6 August, while Canoe Slalom starts on 27 July, both taking place at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
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