Canoe sprint

Heat 3 of the Men's K-1 200m at the 2016 Olympic Games
Highest governing body	International Canoe Federation
First modern-day competition	1869
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	1, 2 or 4
Mixed-sex	Separate competitions
Type	Water sport, outdoor
Equipment	Kayak or Canoe, paddle (single or double bladed)
Venue	River, artificial lake, canal
Glossary	Glossary of canoeing terms
Presence
Olympic	since 1936 (men only); since 1948 (both men and women)
Paralympic	since 2016

Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today but is often used as a hypernym for both canoe marathon and canoe sprint. Similarly, the term 'canoeing' is used to describe both kayaking and canoeing.

The sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), which recognises four official distances and three boat classes in which athletes can compete. Competitors may race over 200, 500, 1000, and 5000 metres in crews consisting of one, two, or four athletes, across either eight or nine lanes marked by buoys. Occasionally, regional championships include variations to this format, such as 100-meter sprints.

Modern canoeing as a competitive sport can be traced back to the mid-19th century when travelers popularised competitive canoeing in central Europe and North America. Around 1900, the first national and international canoeing federations were formed, leading to international competitions in the first quarter of the 20th century. Male canoeists have competed at the Summer Olympic Games since 1936, and women's canoeing was added to the Olympic programme in 1948. Today, there are twelve canoe sprint events at the Olympics. In addition, the ICF holds an annual World Championship with many more events. On the whole, European athletes have dominated the sport, winning over 90% of all available medals.^[1]