Canoe Sprint at the 1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 canoeing program was identical to that of 1976, with two women’s kayak events (singles and doubles) and nine men’s events (five in kayak, four in Canadian canoe). All events were considered canoe sprint events.

The men’s events were dominated by Soviet paddler Vladimir Parfenovich, who won three gold medals, two in kayak doubles events accompanied by Serhiy Chukhrai. The 1980 Olympics also saw the Olympic début of German Birgit Fischer, the greatest women’s canoeist of all-time, who would compete through the 2004 Olympics, winning 12 medals and eight gold medals, despite having to miss the 1984 Olympics during the peak of her career. Canoeing is primarily a European sport, dominated by Eastern European and German paddlers, and thus the 1980 US-led boycott had almost no effect on the canoeing competition in Moscow.

The 1980 canoeing events were held at the Canoeing and Rowing Basin at the Krylatskoye Sports Complex, which also hosted 1980 Olympic rowing. The venue was built in 1973 and continues to host major canoeing and rowing events (through 2020). One innovation in 1980 was that an automatic start system was introduced for the canoes and kayaks.