The water has been turned on, the first athlete has been on the course, and the canoe slalom venue is fast taking shape in Tokyo ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.

For the record, the first athlete on the water at the Kasai whitewater stadium was former Japanese team member, Asahi Yamada, who is now working for the Tokyo 2020 organising committee as part of the canoe slalom sports team.

“The water is really nice, and the top of the course is really hard,” Yamada said.

“There are many drops and waves, so I think it will be a really good course. We will do some fine tuning, so by the time of the Games, it will be amazing.”

The International Canoe Federation visited the venue last week, and was impressed by progress.

“The venue is taking shape, everything is on track to meet all the important deadlines,” ICF canoe slalom technical committee chair, Jean-michel Prono, said.

“We could not be happier. We have a venue that is ready to be paddled on, and meets all of our requirements.

“We are confident in the coming months further development of the venue will make it one of the best ever, offering a unique Olympic experience to our athletes and sponsors.”

Japanese Canoe Federation president and ICF executive board member, Shoken Narita, also hosted a visit by the IOC/Tokyo 2020 coordination committee.