Canoe Slalom at the 2020 Summer Olympics

The slalom competitions were held at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course. It was the first purpose-built canoe course in Japan and had been developed on land adjoining the Kasai Rinkai Park. The venue had a capacity of 7,500 spectators. The Tokyo government planned to use the facility for a wide range of water sports and leisure activities after the Games.

The slalom program changed in 2020, for the first time since 1972. As a part of the gender equality initiatives of the IOC, the men’s C-2 was replaced by the women’s C-1, and men and women both competed in C-1 and K-1. The inaugural women’s C-1 was won by the Australian Jessica Fox, winner of the first gold medal by a non-European in Olympic canoe slalom. Additionally, she also won the K-1 bronze.

Germany was the most successful nation, winning medals in all four disciplines, but the four gold medals were distributed between four different nations. The big surprise of the Tokyo Games was the performance of the French team, which had not won a medal since the sport returned to the Olympic program in 1992. Three countries, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, and Hungary, qualified in Olympic canoe slalom for the first time, but only the athletes of Mexico and Chinese Taipei actually participated in the competition. The nomination of the Hungarian athlete in the women’s C-1 was withdrawn after the Hungarian Olympic Committee decided to send only athletes fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to Tokyo.

Nine athletes competed in both the K-1 and the C-1 events. Russia’s Pavel Eygel was the only male athlete participating in both. The competitors paddled in extreme heat over the six days on the warm water, and many suffered from exhaustion after their runs.