This Friday marks the start of the 15th ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic with many of the worlds best back in action after the thrilling Olympic showdown in Rio just a few weeks ago.

The host nation is the most successful down the Troja channel winning 15 World Cup races in Prague, most of all countries.

Last year, Jirí Prskavec (CZE, K1M), Katerina Hoskova (CZE, C1W) and Stanislav Jezek (CZE, C1M) won in Prague.

Stepanka Hilgertová (CZE) claimed five World Cup race wins in Prague, dating from 1995 to 2008, most of all racers.

At the 2015 World Cup in Prague, Ana Satila (BRA) became the first South American woman to finish on the podium of a Canoe Slalom World Cup race. She finished in third in C1W.

C1 Men

Alexander Slafkovsky (SVK) won the last two C1M World Cup events, in La Seu d'Urgell and Pau. He has won this event six times in total.

Slafkovsky can become the first man to win three successive C1M races since Tony Estanguet (FRA) won the last two races of 2003 (twice Bratislava) and the first two of 2004 (Athens, La Seu d'Urgell).

Estanguet is also the last man to win three or more C1M World Cup events in a single season as he won four in 2004.

Only Estanguet (14) and Michal Martikán (SVK, 13) have won more C1M World Cup events in this century than Slafkovsky (6).

At the 2016 Canoe Slalom World Cup in Pau, Takuya Haneda (JPN) became the first Asian man to finish on the podium of this event at a World Cup.

Haneda claimed bronze in this event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

C1 Women

Mallory Franklin (GBR) won the last C1W World Cup event in Pau on her 22nd birthday.

The last to win C1W World Cup events in succession was Jessica Fox (AUS) when she claimed four consecutive wins in 2013.

Great Britain has never won back-to-back C1W World Cup races.

Fox has won a record 13 World Cup events in C1W. Rosalyn Lawrence (AUS) and Franklin follow with four victories each.

Katerina Hoskova (CZE) won this event at last year's World Cup in Prague, her only C1W World Cup win to date.

Hoskova has claimed 11 World Cup podium finishes in this event, second-most behind Fox (18). Franklin is in third place with 10 podium finishes in the C1W event.

The C1W World Cup races of 2016 have been won by three different women - Fox in Ivrea, Nuria Vilarrubla (ESP) in La Seu d'Urgell and Franklin in Pau. Last year, the five World Cup races were won by four different women - Fox (2 wins), Hoskova, Franklin, Vilarrubla.

C2 Men

France has won three C2M World Cup events in a row and has won four of the last five World Cup races in the this event. They only failed to win in front of a home crown in Pau 2015.

Edern Le Ruyet and Pierre-Antoine Tillard (FRA) won this event at the last two World Cups, in La Seu d'Urgell and Pau.

Le Ruyet / Tillard can become the first pair to win three successive C2M World Cup events since Peter and Ladislav Skantar (SVK) won in Tacen, Prague and La Seu d'Urgell in 2014.

The Skantar cousins won the Olympic title in this event in Rio de Janeiro last month. Their last World Cup win in this event was the victory in La Seu d'Urgell in 2014.

Olympic bronze medallists in this event, Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Peche (FRA) won the C2M at last year's World Cup in Prague. They can become the second team to win multiple C2M World Cup races in Prague after Pavol and Peter Hochschorner (SVK, 3 wins).

The Hochschorner twins have won a record 31 World Cup events, all in C2M. Their last victory dates back to 5 July 2015, when they were victorious in Liptovský Mikuláš.

There has been a German pair on the podium of this event at all three World Cups of 2016 as Nico Bettge and David Schröder (GER) finished in second and third place respectively in Ivrea and La Seu d'Urgell and Thomas Becker and Robert Behling (GER) in second place in Pau.

Jan Benzien and Franz Anton (GER) claimed Germany's last C2M World Cup win as they won in Bratislava in 2012.

K1 Men

Samuel Hernanz (ESP) won this event in Pau at the last World Cup. He can become the first man since Etienne Daille (FRA) in 2012 to win successive K1M World Cup races.

Daille is also the last man to win multiple K1M World Cup events in one season. He won three in 2012.

Jirí Prskavec (CZE) won the K1M World Cup event last year in Prague. He can join Fabien Lefevre (FRA, 3) and Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE, 2) on multiple K1M wins in the Czech capital.

Prskavec took a bronze medal in this event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The last nine K1M World Cup races have been won by nine different men.

Of all five main World Cup events (C1M, C1W, C2M, K1M, K1W), the K1M is the only event yet to be won by a racer from Slovakia. Jakub Grigar (SVK) claimed a second place in La Seu d'Urgell this year.

Thomas Bersinger (ARG) is currently leading the K1M World Cup standings. He aims to become the first South American man to finish on the podium of a World Cup event

This season, no man has finished on the podium of a K1M World Cup event twice.

K1 Women

Marie-Zelia Lafont (FRA) won the K1M race at the last World Cup in Pau. She can become the first woman to win in succession since Jana Dukatova (SVK) won in Prague and Bratislava in 2012.

Jessica Fox (AUS) took home a bronze medal in this event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She finished in second place at the World Cups of Ivrea and La Seu d'Urgell this season.

Fox's only World Cup win in this event came in 2013 in Tacen.

Ricarda Funk (GER) is currently leading the K1W World Cup standings. She won the World Cup race in Ivrea and can become the first woman with multiple wins in one season since she did so herself in 2014.

Dukatova has won this event on eight occasions, third-most in this century behind Elena Kaliská (SVK, 11) and Stepanka Hilgertová (CZE, 11).

Jasmin Schornberg (GER) claimed two World Cup wins in this event, both in Prague (2010, 2015). Only Hilgertová (5) won the K1W more often in the Czech capital.

K1M Slalom Cross

All three previous K1M Slalom Cross World Cup events have been won by racers from Czech Republic. Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE) won in Ivrea and Vit Prindis (CZE) in La Seu d'Urgell and Pau.

Prindis has claimed three World Cup wins in total after also winning the K1M race in La Seu d'Urgell in 2016.

Hradilek's win in Ivrea in K1M Slalom Cross was his first World Cup win since a K1M win in Kraków in 2015.

Jaxon Merritt (AUS) and Rick Powell (USA) claimed their first World Cup podium finishes (any event) with a second (La Seu d'Urgell) and third place (Ivrea) respectively in this event this season.

The last non-European men's World Cup win came in Prague in 2010 when Chinese duo Shu Junrong and Hu Minghai won C2M event.

K1W Slalom Cross

Caroline Loir (FRA) won the K1W Slalom Cross World Cup in Pau, her fourth World Cup win in total after three wins in C1W.

Loir is the only woman who had already claimed a World Cup podium finish in any of the other events before finishing in the top-3 of a K1W Slalom Cross World Cup.

Martina Wegman (NED) won this event in La Seu d'Urgell, her first podium place in any World Cup event.

It was the first podium place for a Dutchman since Floris Braat (NED) won K1M in La Seu d'Urgell in 2000.

Ajda Novak (SLO) won the K1W Slalom Cross in Ivrea and claimed a second place in Pau, her first podium spots in any World Cup event.

Novak is the only woman with multiple podium finishes in this event at the World Cup.

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