A guide to canoe slalom at the Olympics

A GUIDE TO CANOE SLALOM AT THE OLYMPICS

* Four classes - men's K1 (kayak single), C1 (canoe single) and C2 (canoe double) and women's K1 - held on a course of artificial rapids.

* Competitors must pass through 18 to 20 gates in numerical order through a series of downstream and upstream gates.

* Two-second penalty incurred for touching gates with the body, boat, or paddle.

* The paddler's head must cross between each gate, the imaginary gate line between each set of poles.

* Gates negotiated in the wrong direction, including upside down and missed gates, incur a 50-second penalty.

* K1 paddlers have two heats and the top 15 (on best single runs) go through to the semi-final. The top 10 from the one-run semi-final go through to the cut-throat Olympic final.

* The C1 has a 12-man semi-final and eight-man final. The C1 has a 10-boat semi-final and six-boat final.