Czechs bid to escape Slovak shadow in canoe slalom

Five-time world champions, Slovakian twins Peter and Pavol Hochschorner will be bidding for another Olympic gold showing when the canoe slalom gets underway on Sunday. The Hochschorners became the first slalom canoeists to win three Olympic gold medals four years ago, and the pair are focused on going even better in London. But the twins will be up against Czech pair Jaroslav Volf and Ondrej Stepanek, who have claimed two Olympic medals, one world championship title and three European championship titles, but remain in their Slovak rivals' shadow in terms of topping the Olympic podium. The Czech duo, however, managed to beat the Hochschorners to the first major title of the year, the European championship in Ausberg, Germany, and now hope to continue their winning streak into London 2012. "Beating the Hochschorners is good for us, but the European championship is another contest on another course," said Volf, who with Stepanek won silver in Beijing and bronze in Athens. "In London it will be difficult. We can't say 'We beat them in Ausberg, we will beat them in London'. They are excellent in the category of C2 and they are in good condition, so it will be difficult to beat them." European paddlers are set to dominate the canoe and kayak disciplines at the London Olympics, where 16 medals are up for grabs in flatwater and slalom events. On flatwater, 158 men will compete in both single and double canoes and kayaks over 200m and 1,000m. There is a also a four-man kayak event over 1km. The 88 women will race in a single (200m and 500m), as well doubles and quads kayak over 500m, with each country limited to one boat in each event, which equates to a total of 18 athletes (12 men and six women) across all events. The 200m distance has been introduced for this Olympics in place of the 500m used in Beijing. In the slalom, the 61 men have races in a single and double canoe (in which athletes use a single-bladed paddle from a kneeling position), as well as a single kayak (in which the competitors sit in the boat and use a paddle with two blades). The 21 female competitors have just the single kayak. The canoe sprint events, in which nine Olympic champions will be seeking to defend their titles, will be held at Eton Dorney, a nine-lane, 2.2km-long facility 30km west of London. The canoe slalom, however, will be held between July 29-August 2 at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, northeast of the British capital. Kayaking as a sport has come a long way since being discovered as the Arctic Inuits' means of transport. It was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1924 as a demonstration sport, and in the 1972 Munich Games, canoe/kayak branched out into the dramatic white water version, the slalom. The slalom events require the paddlers to negotiate 20 to 25 gates in turbulent water over a 250-metre course, water flowing at a rate of 13 cubic metres per second and dropping 5.5m from start to finish. Competitors aim to complete the course in the shortest time, factoring in penalties. While flat racers must paddle continuously in a straight line, white water racers are propelled by the current of the water. They must develop the ability to slow down, stop, and turn around obstacles and racing gates.