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Tuesday, September 19
Canoe/Kayak Fan Guide
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IN THE CROSSHAIRS |
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ESPN.com puts Olympic canoeing and kayaking In the Crosshairs with our interactive fan guide feature. Check out each sport's fan guide for more In the Crosshairs looks at the Olympic sports.
Canoe/Kayak in the
Crosshairs
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Olympic competition dates: Sept. 16-20
Venue: Slalom course at Penrith Lakes
The outlook
Germany's Birgit Fischer, the top women's medal-winner in
kayak sprint in Olympic history, is back for more after winning a
gold and silver in Atlanta. Norway's Knut Holmann is a favorite in
both men's K1 distances. He, too, won a gold and silver in 1996.
The United States qualified in only two men's sprint races (500m
K2 and 1,000m K4) and the women's 500m K1.
A top medal contender in the C1 is Slovakia's Michal Martikan,
who won gold in the event at Atlanta at age 17 and won the world
championship the following year.
The finer points
Canoes vs. kayaks: All kayaks are canoes, but not all canoes are kayaks. Canadian canoes are open boats paddled from a kneeling position; kayaks are closed and paddled from a sitting position. Kayaks are lighter and have a more curved keel. The paddles are different, too. Canoe paddles have one flat blade; kayak paddles have two curved blades.
Format: In sprint events, athletes compete in a series of heats, repechage (second chance) and semifinal races from which the top nine boats contest the final. In all but the heats, the fastest boats are grouped in the middle lanes. In slalom events, every competitor is given two runs down the course, with the better run counting toward the final result.
Slalom scoring system: Scores are based on elapsed time to run the course with adjustments made for navigational errors. Touching a gate adds 5 seconds to a competitor's time; missing a gate adds 50 seconds.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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