Canoe slalom road to Paris 2024 revealed

The International Olympic Committee has approved the final canoe slalom qualification pathway for the Paris 2024 Games, which will feature the debut of the exciting new kayak cross event.

There will be a total of 82 quota places available for Paris – 41 men and 41 women – the same number for the Tokyo Olympic canoe slalom competition.

In Paris a total of six athletes from one country will be allowed to qualify – one each in men’s and women’s kayak, men’s and women’s canoe and men’s and women’s kayak cross. While only one athlete from each country will be allowed to contest the kayak and canoe events, two athletes will be permitted to compete in the kayak cross.

The approved pathway spells out how athlete quota places will be allocated through the Global and Continental Qualification Competitions, and also sets out the qualification timeline. 

The global qualifier will be the 2023 ICF World Championships in Lee Valley, London, in September, where15 quotas in both men’s and women’s kayak, and 12 in men’s and women’s canoe, will be on offer.

The ICF will organise a kayak cross global qualification competition in Prague in 2024 where three Olympic quotas in both the men’s and women’s kayak cross will be allocated. Only athletes who have not yet qualified a quota place in and canoe or kayak event will be entitled to enter.

Each country will be allowed to enter three athletes per gender in the kayak cross global qualifier, and the highest ranked eligible countries in each gender will be awarded an Olympic ticket.

One Olympic quota position in each of the men’s and women’s canoe and kayak events at the continental qualifiers will be on offer, but there will be no kayak cross quotas available.

An athlete can only earn a quota for one event for their country. France will be allocated one athlete quota place for each gender, provisionally in the kayak events.

The qualification pathway details where and when each of the continental qualifying competitions will be held, although some dates and venues are still to be confirmed.

“Official approval of the qualification pathway for Paris 2024 signals the firing of the starter’s gun for countries to start to prepare their campaign for the next Olympic Games” ICF Canoe Slalom Committee chair, Jean-Michel Prono, said.

“The addition of kayak cross adds an exciting element for the next Olympics, and will give countries an opportunity to showcase an additional elite athlete on the world stage. In many ways, qualifying for the Olympics is just as exciting and sometimes just as difficult as competing at the Olympics, so we are looking forward to what should be a fascinating build-up to Paris 2024”.

(photo ANSA)