Canoeing at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Qualification

This article details the qualifying phase for canoeing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Similar to the previous editions, the International Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation (ICF) have established a qualification system for both slalom and sprint canoeing. The quota places have already been set for each event by ICF in October 2022.

Qualification summary

NOC	Slalom						Sprint										Total
	K1 M	C1 M	KX1 M	K1 W	C1 W	KX1 W	Men					Women					Boats	Athletes
	K1 M	C1 M	KX1 M	K1 W	C1 W	KX1 W	K1 1000	K2 500	K4 500	C1 1000	C2 500	K1 500	K2 500	K4 500	C1 200	C2 500	Boats	Athletes
Algeria																	2	1
Andorra																	2	1
Angola																	1	2
Argentina																	2	2
Australia																	11	15
Austria																	4	2
Belgium																	2	3
Brazil																	10	8
Bulgaria																	1	1
Canada																	10	15
Chile																	2	2
China																	9	17
Chinese Taipei																	3	3
Colombia																	1	1
Comoros																	2	1
Croatia																	3	2
Cuba																	3	3
Czech Republic																	10	9
Denmark																	3	6
Egypt																	1	1
France																	13	13
Germany																	13	21
Great Britain																	6	4
Guam																	1	1
Hungary																	8	15
Iran																	2	2
Ireland																	5	3
Italy																	8	7
Japan																	5	3
Kazakhstan																	3	6
Lithuania																	2	5
Mexico																	3	3
Moldova																	2	3
Morocco																	3	2
Netherlands																	6	5
New Zealand																	10	13
Nigeria																	1	2
Norway																	1	4
Poland																	12	16
Portugal																	3	4
Romania																	2	3
Samoa																	2	2
São Tomé and Príncipe																	1	1
Senegal																	2	2
Serbia																	3	8
Singapore																	1	1
Slovakia																	6	4
Slovenia																	6	4
South Africa																	3	5
Spain																	14	19
Sweden																	5	5
Switzerland																	4	2
Tunisia																	2	2
Ukraine																	6	8
United States																	7	5
Uruguay																	1	1
Uzbekistan																	3	3
Vietnam																	1	1
Total: 58 NOCs	22	17	24	21	17	24	15	11	10	16	12	16	11	10	15	13	255	300

Slalom

For the slalom events, the men and women will each compete in C-1, K-1, and the inaugural KX-1 (kayak cross). Quota places are allocated to NOCs, not to specific canoeists. NOCs are limited to one boat for each event. These qualification spots will be awarded as follows:^[2]^[3]

World Championships (for canoe and kayak singles) – The highest-ranked eligible canoeists in every single boat (considering only one boat per NOC) will obtain a quota place for their respective NOC. Fifteen qualification spots are available in the K-1 events and twelve in the C-1.
Global Qualification Tournament (for kayak cross) – The top three eligible NOCs in each kayak cross event will be awarded a quota place.
Continental Qualification Events – NOCs eligible for qualification in a given event will secure a single quota place for their respective continent.
Host country – As the host country, France reserves one quota place each for the men's and women's slalom canoe and kayak singles. If one or more French slalom canoeists qualify regularly and directly, their slots will be reallocated to the next highest-ranked eligible NOCs in the kayak singles from the 2023 ICF World Championships, or any of the continental qualification tournaments.
Universality places – Two invitational places will be entitled to eligible NOCs interested to have their canoeists (whether slalom or sprint) compete in Paris 2024 as granted by the Universality principle.
Reallocation – Unused quota spots will be reallocated.

Timeline

Event	Date	Venue
2023 European Games	June 29 – July 2, 2023	Kraków, Poland^[1]
2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships	September 19–24, 2023	Lee Valley, Great Britain^[1]
2023 Asian Canoe Slalom Championships	October 27–29, 2023	Tokyo, Japan^[1]
2024 Oceania Canoe Slalom Championships	January 26–28, 2024	Penrith, Australia^[1]
2024 African Canoe Slalom Olympic Qualifiers	February 9–11, 2024	Sainte-Suzanne, Réunion^[1]
2024 Pan American Canoe Slalom Olympic Qualifiers	March 15–17, 2024^[4]	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil^[1]
2024 ICF Kayak Cross Global Qualification Tournament	June 7–9, 2024	Prague, Czech Republic^[1]

Qualification table

Event	Men's K-1	Men's C-1	Men's KX-1	Women's K-1	Women's C-1	Women's KX-1
Host nation	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023 World Championships	Great Britain Czech Republic Italy Switzerland Morocco Australia Slovenia Poland Spain China Sweden New Zealand France Japan Ireland	Slovenia Poland Germany Czech Republic Slovakia Great Britain France Italy Ireland Croatia United States Spain	—	Germany New Zealand Poland Great Britain Italy Slovakia Netherlands France Spain Switzerland Czech Republic Austria Brazil Slovenia Japan	Andorra United States Australia Great Britain Czech Republic Germany Slovakia France Brazil Spain Italy Ukraine	—
2023 European Games	Austria	Netherlands	—	Ireland	Slovenia	—
2023 Asian Qualifier	Chinese Taipei	Japan	—	Chinese Taipei	China	—
2024 Oceania Championships	—	Australia	—	—	—	—
2024 African Qualifier	Tunisia	Senegal	—	—	—	—
2024 Pan American Qualifier	Brazil	Canada	—	Mexico	Canada	—
2024 Kayak Cross Global Qualifier	—		France Germany Spain	—		Australia France Great Britain
Universality Places	Comoros		—			—
Reallocation	Slovakia^[a] Germany^[b]		—	Australia^[a] Algeria^[b] United States^[c]	Ireland^[b] Netherlands^[c]	—
Invitation Places	—	Refugee Olympic Team	—	—	—	—
Total	22	18	3	21	17	3

^ ^a ^b France obtains a quota through the 2023 World Championships. Therefore, the host country place is reallocated to the next eligible NOC, not yet qualified, in the Kayak single event for the same gender at the 2023 World Championships. Slovakia receive the reallocated quota in the men's event and Australia receive the reallocated quota in the women's event
^ ^a ^b ^c There was not enough competing NOCs at the Oceanian Qualifier neither in the World Ranking, therefore the quota gets reallocated to the best next NOC in the World Rankings from any continent.
^ ^a ^b There were not enough competing NOCs at the African Qualifier neither in the World Ranking, therefore the quota gets reallocated to the best next NOC in the World Rankings from any continent.

Sprint

NOCs are limited to two boats per sprint event, a maximum of six per gender in kayaking, and a maximum of three per gender in canoeing, constituting a roster of eighteen canoeists. The qualification pathway enables the NOC to participate and not necessarily those who earn a direct quota place.^[5] These qualification spots will be awarded as follows:^[6]

World Championships – The highest-ranked eligible canoeists in every single boat (considering only one boat per NOC) will obtain a quota place for their respective NOC. Five-boat spots are available in the C-1 events with an additional place reserved for the host country each in the men's 1000 m and women's 200 m, seven in the K-1 events (including a berth reserved for the host country in the men's 1000 m and women's 500 m), six in the K-2 500 m, eight in the C-2 500 m, and ten in the K-4 500 m.^[6]
Continental Qualification Events – NOCs eligible for qualification in a given event will secure an assigned number of quota places for their respective continent. For the K-1 and C-1 events, two-boat spots will be awarded for each continent, except for Africa and Oceania (both of which will earn a single quota place). For the K-2 and C-2 events, a single-boat berth is assigned to each continent based on the results from the World Championships: the highest-ranked NOCs eligible for qualification across five continents will secure a direct quota place.
Host country – As the host country, France reserves one quota place for the events listed in the World Championships section. If one or more French slalom canoeists qualify regularly and directly, their slots will be reallocated to the next highest-ranked eligible NOCs in the corresponding event from the 2023 ICF World Championships.
Universality places – Two invitational places will be entitled to eligible NOCs interested to have their canoeists (whether slalom or sprint) compete in Paris 2024 as granted by the Universality principle.
Reallocation – Unused quota spots will be reallocated. This occurs because several canoeists who qualified for a larger boat category may also compete in a smaller category, freeing up quota place(s) that the NOC has earned in a smaller category.

Timeline

Event	Date	Venue
2023 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships	August 23–27, 2023	Duisburg, Germany^[5]
2023 African Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifiers	November 23–26, 2023	Abuja, Nigeria^[7]
2024 Oceania Canoe Sprint Qualifier	February 14–18, 2024	Penrith, Australia^[5]
2024 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships	April 18–21, 2024	Tokyo, Japan^[8]
2024 Pan American Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifiers	April 23–25, 2024	Sarasota, United States^[9]
2024 European Canoe Sprint Qualifier	May 8–9, 2024	Szeged, Hungary^[5]

Qualification table

Event	2023 World Championships	Continental Qualification					Additional	Total
Men Kayak	2023 World Championships	Africa	Oceania	Asia	Americas	Europe	Additional	Total
K-1 1000 m	France* Portugal Hungary Australia Czech Republic Belgium Spain Sweden Argentina	Morocco	Samoa	Uzbekistan Iran	Uruguay Brazil	Individual Neutral Athletes^BLR Denmark	Refugee Olympic Team	18
K-2 500 m	Portugal Hungary^AQ Spain^AQ Australia Czech Republic Germany Lithuania^AQ	South Africa	New Zealand	Kazakhstan	United States	Poland	—	12
K-4 500 m	Germany Hungary Ukraine Australia Denmark Lithuania Spain Serbia Canada China	—						10
Event	2023 World Championships	Continental Qualification					Additional	Total
Men Canoe	2023 World Championships	Africa	Oceania	Asia	Americas	Europe	Additional	Total
C-1 1000 m	France* Czech Republic Romania Germany Poland Hungary Brazil Moldova	Tunisia	~~Australia~~ Ukraine	Iran Chinese Taipei	Cuba Canada	Italy Spain	Refugee Olympic Team	17
C-2 500 m	Germany China Spain France Hungary Romania Italy Czech Republic	Angola	New Zealand	Kazakhstan	Brazil	Individual Neutral Athletes^RUS	—	13
Event	2023 World Championships	Continental Qualification					Additional	Total
Women Kayak	2023 World Championships	Africa	Oceania	Asia	Americas	Europe	Additional	Total
K-1 500 m	France* New Zealand Denmark Hungary Serbia Australia Canada Portugal Sweden Croatia Bulgaria Spain	Egypt	Samoa	Uzbekistan Singapore	Argentina Brazil	Ukraine Czech Republic	Refugee Olympic Team	21
K-2 500 m	Denmark Poland Germany Belgium France Sweden	South Africa	New Zealand	China	Mexico	Netherlands	—	11
K-4 500 m	New Zealand Poland Spain China Australia Serbia Hungary Germany Norway Canada	—						10
Event	2023 World Championships	Continental Qualification					Additional	Total
Women Canoe	2023 World Championships	Africa	Oceania	Asia	Americas	Europe	Additional	Total
C-1 200 m	France* Cuba Spain China United States Chile Canada Ukraine Poland	Senegal São Tomé and Príncipe^UP	~~Australia~~ Guam	Uzbekistan Vietnam	Brazil Colombia	Hungary Individual Neutral Athletes^RUS	—	17
C-2 500 m	China Spain Canada Germany Hungary Cuba Moldova Ukraine	Nigeria	Poland^	Kazakhstan	Chile	~~Individual Neutral Athletes^BLR~~ France	—	13

^* Host quota

Italic: National federation has qualified a boat but the athlete that did this was already counted in another boat
^AQ: National federation has qualified a boat but one of two athletes that did this was already counted in another boat
^UP: National federation has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission
^RUS: Individual Neutral Athletes from Russia
^BLR: Individual Neutral Athletes from Belarus
^: ICF decided that some events in Africa and Oceania require reallocation of spare spots to the World Championships lists because the events shorten eligible competitors.
º: ICF decided that two quota places are combined and reallocated to the highest-ranked NOC vying for qualification in a larger boat category, should they be available from team boats in the same gender and category.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Canoe Slalom" (PDF). ICF. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^ Francheschi Neto, Virgilio (12 December 2022). "How to qualify for canoe slalom at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "Slalom road to Paris revealed". International Canoe Federation. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "2024 COPAC CANOE SLALOM PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS & OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Canoe Sprint" (PDF). ICF. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b Kim, EJ Monica (12 December 2022). "How to qualify for canoe sprint at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ "2023 CAC CANOE SPRINT AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS & OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
^ "2024 CANOE SPRINT ASIAN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^ "2024 CANOE SPRINT PAN AMERICAN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

[FRA-WC2023-5] France obtains a quota through the 2023 World Championships. Therefore, the host country place is reallocated to the next eligible NOC, not yet qualified, in the Kayak single event for the same gender at the 2023 World Championships. Slovakia receive the reallocated quota in the men's event and Australia receive the reallocated quota in the women's event

[Oceania_reallocation-6] There was not enough competing NOCs at the Oceanian Qualifier neither in the World Ranking, therefore the quota gets reallocated to the best next NOC in the World Rankings from any continent.

[Africa_reallocation-7] There were not enough competing NOCs at the African Qualifier neither in the World Ranking, therefore the quota gets reallocated to the best next NOC in the World Rankings from any continent.

[canoeing_(slalom)_qual-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Canoe Slalom" (PDF). ICF. Retrieved 24 December 2022.

[canoe-slalom-qual-2] Francheschi Neto, Virgilio (12 December 2022). "How to qualify for canoe slalom at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[3] "Slalom road to Paris revealed". International Canoe Federation. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[4] "2024 COPAC CANOE SLALOM PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS & OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

[canoeing_(sprint)_qual-8] "Qualification System – Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – Canoe Sprint" (PDF). ICF. Retrieved 24 December 2022.

[canoe-sprint-qual-9] Kim, EJ Monica (12 December 2022). "How to qualify for canoe sprint at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[10] "2023 CAC CANOE SPRINT AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS & OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 2 October 2023.

[11] "2024 CANOE SPRINT ASIAN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

[12] "2024 CANOE SPRINT PAN AMERICAN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

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