Australia and Canoe/Kayak
Australia first competed in canoeing in Melbourne in 1956 and Dennis Green and Wally Brown won a bronze medal in the now discontinued 10,000m kayak pairs (K2) event. Green ultimately competed in five Olympics and carried the Australian flag in the Opening Ceremony at Munich 1972.
Australia’s first gold medal in the sport almost went to Grant Davies in the K1 1000m at Seoul 1988. Initially it was thought that Davies had won the event and he even signed to collect the gold medal. On closer inspection of the finish, the officials reversed the initial result, giving the gold medal to Greg Barton of the Untied States by a victory margin of .005 seconds.
Clint Robinson broke through for Australia’s first, and so far only, gold medal when he won the K1 1000m at Barcelona 1992. With a bronze medal in the K1 1000m at Atlanta 1996 and a silver medal, with Nathan Baggaley, in the K2 500m in Athens in 2004 Robinson is Australia's most-decorated Olympic paddler.
Australia’s white-water slalom canoeists first competed in Barcelona and Danielle Woodward won the silver medal in the women’s K1 event. Robin Bell went very close to the dais at Athens 2004 when he placed 4th in the C1 slalom. Bell became Australia's first world champion when he won the C1 event at the 2005 World Championships in Penrith, Sydney.
Olympic History
Flatwater canoeing made its debut as a full Olympic sport in Berlin in 1936. Women paddlers first competed at London 1948.
Slalom events which are held on whitewater first appeared in Munich in 1972 and then promptly disappeared for another twenty years, until Barcelona 1992, where it was held on a specially built artificial course. It has been on the program ever since and continues to be one of the spectacles of the Games.
Athens 2004 saw the remarkable Birgit Fischer from Germany (originally East Germany) win her eleventh and twelfth Olympic flatwater medals – eight have been gold.
Gold Medal Winners from the Past Three Olympic Games
Click here for a complete document of winners from Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.