Canoeing —Olympics: Canoeing is a where a canoe or kayak is paddled with only human muscle power. In a kayak , the paddlers sit with their legs in front of them. There are two blades in the paddle of the kayak . On the other hand, in canoes , single or double bladed paddles are used. Paddler in a canoe sits in kneeling position or on a raised seat. Canoes are usually open boats, while kayaks are generally closed-decked boats with a spray deck. The history of the canoe and kayak dates back thousand of years, when native people used these boats to hunt, fish and travel. In modern canoeing sport, both canoes and kayaks may be closed-decked.
Canoeing in the Summer Games: Canoeing or kayaking was introduced in the Summer Games in the 1936 Games in Berlin. Two disciplines of canoeing are included in the Olympic program. These disciplines are flat-water and slalom. In the Summer Games, two types of boats are used— canoes with 1 or 2 canoers and kayaks with 1, 2 or 4 kayakers. Events are named on the basis of the boat used for the sport. Races are usually 500 meters or 1000 meters long.
Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Games: At the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing , canoeing events will be held in two divisions . The flat water events will be held between 18 th August and 23 rd August. The slalom events are scheduled between 11 th August and 14 th August. Finals of the flat water events will be held on 22 nd and 23 rd August . The finals of the slalom events are scheduled on 12 th and 14 th August. 16 gold medals will be given away in the canoeing events in the 2008 Summer Games . Both the flat water and slalom racings of canoeing will be held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Mapo Village, Shunyi District. Slovakia, Germany, Hungary and Australia are the leading countries in the field of canoeing.
Andreas Dittmer, David Cal Figueroa, Maxim Opalev, David Cal Figueroa, Attila Vajda, Adam van Koeverden, Nathan Baggaley, Ian Wynne, Eirik Veras Larsen, Ben Fouhy, Tony Estanguet, Michal Martikan, Stefan Pfanmoller, Benoit Peschier, Campbell Walsh, Fabien Lefevre, Markus Oscarsson and Henrik Nilson are the male canoeing stars to be seen in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.
Some expected female contenders during the twenty-ninth Summer Games are Natasa Janic, Josefa Idem Guerrini, Caroline Brunet, Elena Kaliska, Rebecca Giddens
