The canoeing competition at this year’s Youth Olympic Games is set to be the biggest and most diverse in the event’s history.

There is still one month to go before entries close, but it’s expected up to 60 nations will eventually front up in Barcelona in April for the qualification event.

Teams from every continent are expected to try and qualify for the YOG, which will be held in Buenos Aires in October.

Already athletes from Algeria, Ecuador, Iran, Mauritius, Philippines and Tajikistan have earned the right to compete in Barcelona, alongside European powerhouses like Germany, Belarus and Ukraine.

This year will see the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games, with athletes born in either 2002 or 2003 eligible to compete in this unique format.

Athletes are required to compete in both the sprint, in a head-to-head format, and the slalom, which takes the form of an obstacle race. The obstacle event is also held on flatwater.

The overall ambition of the competition is to provide education for young paddlers, both in competing at a top level and also at a major multi-sport event.

Qualifying for this year’s YOG will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from April 12-15, with every National Federation invited to nominate two athletes per event. The closing date for entries is March 28.

But Federations will not be able to qualify more than one athlete per event for the YOG. There will be a total of 64 athlete places in Buenos Aires up for grabs.

The canoe competition at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore unearthed several future Olympic medallists, including Germany’s Tom Liebscher, Australia’s Jessica Fox and Czech Jiri Prskavec.

More information about the Barcelona qualification event can be found here

Canoe Sprint
Canoe Slalom
Wildwater Canoeing
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