RIO DE JANEIRO - David FLORENCE (GBR) hopes to become the first British winner of the canoe single (C1) men's event, when the competition begins on Sunday, 7 August at Whitewater Stadium.

• Current world champion FLORENCE will try to become the first athlete from Great Britain to win the canoe single (C1) men's event at the Olympic Games.
• FLORENCE already claimed silver in this event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Only three athletes claimed multiple Olympic medals in men's C1: Michal MARTIKAN (SVK, G2-S2-B1), Tony ESTANGUET (FRA, G3) and Lukas POLLERT (TCH/CZE, G1-S1).
• FLORENCE will also try to win gold in canoe double (C2) men and become the first athlete to win two gold medals in canoe slalom at a single Games.
• For the first time since 1992, this event will have a different winner than MARTIKAN (1996, 2008) or ESTANGUET (2000, 2004, 2012).
• The only athlete who won the canoe singles (C1) Olympic event as reigning world champion in this discipline was MARTIKAN in Beijing 2008.
• Slovakia (2) needs one more victory in C1 to equal France (3) as NOC with most gold medals in this event.
• Matej BENUS (SVK) can win his first Olympic medal. He won the world title at the last six world championships in the C1 team event, which is not an Olympic event.
• Benjamin SAVSEK (SLO) became European champion in this event in 2015 and finished second at the world championships in 2015. He can become the second athlete from Slovenia to claim a medal in canoe slalom after Andraz VEHOVAR (SLO), who took silver at the kayak (K1) men's event at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
• Sideris TASIADIS (GER) took silver in this event in 2012 and he can become the first German to win two medals in canoe slalom.
• His compatriot Hannes AIGNER (GER) can also achieve this in kayak (K1) men's after having claimed bronze in that event in 2012.
• Takuya HANEDA (JPN) hopes to become the first Asian athlete to win a medal in canoe slalom.