Blog Posts: Canoe Slalom

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Canoe Slalom Olympic Heats Day 1 Review and Day 2 Preview

John Gregory
7 August 2016

The first day of thrilling canoe slalom competition got underway at the Deodoro Whitewater Stadium.  First, a review of the C1M and K1M heats followed by a preview of what to expect on Monday for the second day of canoe slalom heats. 

 

C1M – Qualification to semi-final largely follows World ranking

In the C1M heats 14 of the 19 started were set to qualify for Tuesday’s semi-final

...Read more

 

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Rio Olympic canoe slalom day 1 preview

John Gregory
6 August 2016

The canoe slalom paddlers are back in Deodoro after the beautifully choreographed opening ceremony. Here is a preview of what to expect tomorrow for the first day of canoe slalom starting at the fabulous world class Deodoro whitewater centre.

Athletes have spent much time familiarizing themselves with this stunning venue since the Olympic test event last November. It is now ready to host canoe slalom at the Olympics for the 8th time. We are guaranteed new Olympic Champions in each class. 

“Once again just getting to the Games is a story in itself in many...Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

The incredible atmosphere from live race commentary

John Gregory
5 August 2016

The atmosphere of canoe slalom comes alive through excellent live race commentary. Here we explore how the commentary makes such an incredible difference to the excitement and feeling at these competitions.

 

Deodoro live canoe slalom commentary team 

Your live race commentators for Rio 2016 in Deodoro are Andy Maddock, Tatau Santos and Pedro Oliva. Maddock and Santos worked together on both the Canoe Sprint and Canoe Slalom test events in 2015.

Maddock comes with experience as a paddler, coach and team manager, having...Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Canoe Slalom from behind the lens

John Gregory
5 August 2016

Canoe slalom has an incredible appeal through the lens of a camera as well as making stunning TV coverage. There is a personal story behind every picture. We have explained the stories in the captions in this post.

I admire the photographs over the years of a small group of slalom enthusiasts; Tony Tickle, Antony Edmonds, Ettore Ivaldi, Chris Worrall, Pete Astles and ICF photographer Balint Vekassy. I was in awe of the stunning images taken by Tony Tickle in the morning mist of the Savage River at the ’89 World Championships.

...Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Canoe slalom support from the bank - the coach

John Gregory
4 August 2016

Today’s posts look both at the important role of the coach and behind the scenes of how the event is judged.

The coach plays a pivotal role in supporting the athlete towards that Ultimate Run. This is not a short-term partnership as the coach and athlete will have spent years working together to hone their performance.

The coach is one member of the athletes' support team that extends to sports psychologists, physiotherapists, dieticians, personal trainers and managers.

Each of the major nation’s competing at Deodoro starting on...Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

The all seeing eye of the judge

John Gregory
4 August 2016

Today we continue the theme of looking at the different roles of those that make Olympic canoe slalom a success. Here we focus on the role of the Judge and explain in more depth the rules of canoe slalom.

To win a medal the paddler needs to be fast and likely clean, meaning no penalties. As the run times have continued to get shorter the possibility to win or medal with a 2-second penalty is unusual. The Canadian Men's Doubles, C2M, presents a unique challenge for the Judges. Both paddlers must negotiate the gate without either paddler touching the poles. It is...Read more

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The mental game

John Gregory
3 August 2016

We can assume the paddlers at the Olympics are all at the peak of their fitness. We can assume they have all mastered advanced whitewater skills and technique such that there is little to choose between them. So what will make the Olympic champions?

We interviewed Jonathan Males Ph.D. Males is a sports psychologist who has worked with athletes and coaches across the last seven Olympic games. He is the author of In the Flow, a book on performance psychology for paddle sports....Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Feel The Ultimate Run

John Gregory
3 August 2016

Rici Funk (GER:K1W) helps us understand what it would feel to race on the Rio course.

Yesterday, we highlighted U23 paddlers on the rise. 24-year-old Funk world ranking has risen from 31 in 2012 to number 4. This makes it all the more disappointing to know that she is not racing at the Rio Olympics. Funk won the semi-final at the November Deodoro test event in 106.69 seconds clear and she currently leads the 2016 World Cup series. I predict we will see Funk at her best at next year’s ICF World Championships as we start the next Olympic cycle.

 

...Read more

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Rio Canoe Slalom Athletes

John Gregory
1 August 2016

The athletes are really the heart of the Olympics. Here we provide some insights into the paddlers that are representing their nation at the Deodoro canoe slalom. 

From my experience, these paddlers have been in the top end of the sport for about 13 years or more, at a team level for more than 10. The average age in this K1M class is 25. Olympics medallists have usually competed at a previous Olympics and have likely medalled at a previous World Championship or World Cup level. Many were successful junior athletes before they progressed into under 23 and seniors...Read more

ICF Planet Canoe #ICFslalom Balint Vekassy @gregiej Rio2016 Canoe Slalom

Canoe slalom technique and terminology

John Gregory
31 July 2016

Today’s attention shifts to describing features of the slalom course and the techniques used to negotiate it. You can refer to the last two posts exploring the kayak classes and canoe classes.

The basics of canoe slalom techniques

The goal for the slalom paddler is to race as fast as possible from the start line to finish line, negotiating up to 25 slalom gates without touching them. The gates must be negotiated in numerical order...Read more