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Today, canoeing and kayaking are popular summertime activities on family vacations around the world. But paddle sports are also fiercely competitive, with both represented in the Summer Olympic Games. Canoeing and kayaking have been Olympic medal sports for men since 1936. Women’s kayaking events were added for the 1948 Olympics in London. Athletes compete in sprint events, which are timed tests of flat water paddling speed, and slalom events, which measure maneuverability and control skills in whitewater.

A canoe drifts on Lake Laberge in Yukon, Canada.

No country has won more Olympic canoe and kayak medals than Hungary. Sprint canoer Katalin Kovács leads Hungary’s medal count in the sport with eight of the 77 total medals it has won. Kovács won three gold and five silver medals over the span of four Olympic Games from 2000 to 2012. Proficient at singles, doubles, and fours, she also won 40 International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Championship gold medals, including 30 gold. She was back-to-back Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Sidebar

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