Canoe Slalom at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The Olympic slalom canoe program was standardized in 1992, with no change in the men’s and women’s programs from 1992-2016. There were four slalom events, kayak and Canadian singles for men, men’s Canadian doubles, and women’s kayak singles.

All of the 2008 canoeing (and rowing) events took place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. This was built specifically for the 2008 Olympics and was finished in August 2007. There were two other Olympic events contested at the site, the men’s and women’s 10 km open-water swimming.

The big news in slalom canoe at Beijing was the performance of the Slovakian twin brothers, Pavol and Peter Hochschorner. They won their third consecutive gold medal in Canadian slalom doubles, making them the first team in Olympic history, with the exact same team members, to win three consecutive gold medals in an event. This would be equalled in 2012 in beach volleyball by Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor.