- Ben Fouhy
Ben Fouhy (born 4 March, 1979, Taumarunui) is New Zealand's top flatwater canoer. In 2003 he became individual kayak (K1) 1000m world champion at Gainesville, USA. This was the first time a New Zealander had won canoeing's blue riband event since their heyday of the 1980's. He won a silver medal in the K1 1000m at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Fouhy had a disappointing world championships in 2005, finishing off the podium for the first time.
- Birgit Fischer
Birgit Fischer (born 25 February 1962 in Brandenburg an der Havel, then East Germany) is a kayaker, who has won 8 gold medals over a record 6 different Olympic Games: twice representing East Germany, then four times representing the reunited nation. After both the 1988 and 2000 games, she announced her retirement, only to return for the subsequent games. She has been both the youngest- and oldest-ever Olympic canoeing champion (ages 18 and 42).
- Steven Ferguson
Steven Sean Ferguson (born May 8, 1980 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a canoer, surf lifesaver and former swimmer from New Zealand. He competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. There he didn't pass the qualifying heats in the 100 and 200m breaststroke. He also competed in swimming at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Ferguson followed in the footsteps of his famous father Ian, in representing New Zealand in canoeing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, …
- Adam van Koeverden
Adam Joseph van Koeverden (born January 29, 1982 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian flatwater kayak racer and reigning Olympic champion in K-1 500 m. He won a bronze medal in the K-1 1000 m at the 1999 world junior championships in Zagreb, Croatia, and then became world junior marathon champion in 2000. His first success as a senior came with a silver medal at the 2003 world championships in Gainesville, Georgia in the men's K-1 1000 m event.
- Andreas Dittmer
Andreas Dittmer (born 16 April 1972 in Neustrelitz) is a German flatwater canoeist. The dominant Canadian canoeist of his generation in 1000 m races, he has won three Olympic and eight world championship gold medals. Dittmer won his first world championship medal - a bronze - in Paris in 1991 as a member of Germany's four-man (C-4) 500m crew. In 1994 he won the C-2 1000m world championship with Gunar Kirchbach.
- Ivan Patzaichin
Ivan Patzaichin (b. November 26, 1949) is a retired Romanian flatwater canoer who won seven Olympic medals, four gold and three silver, more than any other competitor in the history of the Canadian canoeing events. He also won eight world championship gold medals:- * C1 1000m (1973, 1977) * C1 10,000m (1978) * C2 500m (1979) * C2 1000m (1970, 1981, 1983) * C2 10,000m (1982) Born in Mila 23, Tulcea County, to a Russian Lipovan family, …
- Gert Fredriksson
Gert Fredriksson (November 21, 1919 - July 5 2006) was a Swedish kayaker. He was the most successful male canoeist ever, having gained medals in a succession of Swedish, Nordic, World and Olympic championships from 1942 - 1960. Fredriksson remains the most successful Swede at the Olympics, winning six gold medals at four Olympics. Fredriksson won his first Olympic gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics winning the 1,000 and 10,000 metre events.
- Tim Brabants
Tim Brabants (born 23 January 1977 in Chertsey) is a British flatwater canoeist who won the individual kayak 1000m (k1) bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics. He went on to become K-1 1000m European champion at Szeged, Hungary in 2002, the first time a British paddler had won the blue riband event. The 2004 Olympics however were a disappointment.
- Nathan Baggaley
Nathan Baggaley (born December 6, 1975 in Byron Bay, New South Wales) is an Australian flatwater canoer and surfski champion. He is a three-times world champion in the individual kayak (K1) 500m event and has also won two Olympic silver medals. He made his international debut for Australia in 1997, initially competing in the K2. In 1999 he switched to the K1 and reached the 500m semi-finals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
- Ronald Rauhe
Ronald Rauhe (born 3 October 1981 in Berlin) is an athlete from Germany who competes in flatwater canoeing. He has won ten world championship gold medals in the Kayak discipline, more than any other kayak racer currently in competition. Rauhe was selected for the 1997 World Junior Championships in Lahti, Finland at the age of just fifteen years nine months.
- Maxim Opalev
Maxim Opalev (born 4 April 1979 in Volgograd) is an athlete from Russia, who competes in flatwater canoeing. Opalev participated in two Summer Olympics (2000 and 2004), and came home with a medal each time. He is a current (2006) World and European champion. Opalev's potential was evident when he won two gold medals as a sixteen-year-old at the 1995 World Junior Championships in Yamanashi, Japan.
- David Cal
David Cal Figueroa (born October 10, 1982 in Cangas, Galicia, Spain) is a Spanish flatwater canoer. He specialises in the Canadian canoe C1 event. Cal was a junior world championship bronze medallist in Zagreb in 1999 (C1 1000m). The following year he became European C1 500m junior champion at Boulogne, France in 2000. He also won the C1 1000m bronze medal. He was a reserve at the Sydney Olympics. At the 2002 European under-23 championships in Zagreb, Croatia, …
- Martin Doktor
Martin Doktor) is the Czech Republic's best-known flatwater canoer. He was double Olympic champion in the Canadian canoe C-1 discipline in Atlanta in 1996. He went on to win two world championship gold medals (C1 200m 1997 and C1 500m 1998). He was also European C1 1000m champion in 1997 and 2000. At the 2004 Summer Olympics Doktor was unfortunate not to add to his medal tally, coming in fourth in the 1000m final and fifth in the 500m.
- Florin Popescu
Florin Popescu is a Romanian flatwater canoer. He won two Olympic medals in the C-2 event at the 2000 Summer Olympics with his teammate Mitică Pricop. He won a total of seven world championship gold medals as well as seven European championship golds, making him the most successful Romanian paddler of modern times. Injury forced Popescu to retire at the end of the 2005 season after winning his seventh world title (C4 500m) at the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
- György Kolonics
György Kolonics, born June 4, 1972 in Budapest, is a Hungarian canoer, who has won four Olympic medals in the Hungarian team on Canadian Canoe events. He has also had outstanding success at the Flatwater Racing World Championships. No other paddler currently in competition can match his record of fourteen World Championship gold medals. He has also won three European titles - C1 1000m (1997), C1 500m (2001) and C2 500m (2004). "Kolo" is a member of the Csepel club.
- Christian Gille
Christian Gille (born 6 January 1979 in Wolfen, Germany, European Union) is a German flatwater canoer. he competes in the Canadian canoe events. A junior world champion (C4 1000m) in 1993 he won two senior world championship gold medals with Thomas Zereske in the C2 200m sprint in 1997 and 1998. They also competed at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, placing fifth in the C2 500m final. In 2002 Gille won the only individual (C1) world championship medal of his career.
- Tomasz Wylenzek
Tomasz Wylenzek is a German flatwater canoer who already has three major championship titles to his name. Wylenzek won two junior world championship titles in 2001 at Curitiba, Brazil. The following year, still only 19, he was promoted to the German senior squad as C-2 partner for the more experienced Christian Gille. At the 2002 World Championships in Seville, they finished 7th in the 500m final.
- Tim Wieskötter
Tim Wieskötter, born 12 March 1979 in Emsdetten) is a German flatwater canoer, and current (2006) world champion in both the K-2 Kayak 200m and 500m events. Wieskötter won a bronze medal in the K-2 500m at the Sydney Olympics with team-mate Ronald Rauhe. Since then they have completely dominated the event, winning the major race of the season every year - four world championships (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and the Olympic gold medal at Athens in 2004.
- Vadzim Makhneu
Vadzim Makhneu or Vadim Makhnev (Вадим Махневborn December 21, 1979 in Minsk, is a Belarusian flatwater canoer. He is a current (2005) world champion and Olympic medallist. Makhneu never represented Belarus as a junior but won four European championship gold medals for his country at under-23 level as a member of the four-man (K4) kayak crew.
- Josefa Idem
Josefa Idem Guerrini (born September 23, 1964 in Goch, West Germany) is an Italian canoer. She has won four Olympic medals in kayak flatwater canoe racing, and 35 international medals during her career. She was the first Italian woman to win World Championships and Olympic medals in kayak. Josefa Idem began paddling at the age of eleven. In 1977, aged thirteen, she competed at the European Championships in Plovdiv and won gold medals over 200, …
- Raman Piatrushenka
Raman Piatrushenka, born December 25, 1980 in Kalinkavičy, is a Belarusian flatwater canoer and current (2005) world champion in the K-4 500m kayak. He also won the bronze medal in the K-2 500m at the 2004 Summer Olympics, with teammate Vadzim Makhneu. "Romo's" first success on the international stage came at the 2000 European under-23 Championships in Boulogne, France as a member of the Belarus K4 crew which won both the 500m and 1000m gold medals.
- Stefan Holtz
Stefan Holtz is a German flatwater canoer and current (2006) world and European champion. A junior European champion from 1998 (C2 1000m with Thomas Lueck), Holtz is best-known as a member of the successful Germany four-man Canadian canoe crew. In 2005 in Poznań, Poland they became European champions in the C4 1000m and won two bronze medals (C4 200m and C4 500m.
- Ian Wynne
Ian Wynne is a British flatwater canoeist who won the kayak 500m (k1) bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics. In the same year he won the silver medal in the same event at the European Championships at Poznań, Poland, as well as the bronze in the K-2 1000m with partner Paul Darby-Dowman. In 2005 he finished seventh in the K-1 500m at the world championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Wynne is a member of the Royal Canoe Club. He is 184 cm (6'0") tall and weighs 84 kg (185 lbs).
- Adam Wysocki
Adam Wysocki is a Polish flatwater canoer. A consistent competitor at the highest level since the mid-nineties he has won two world championship gold medals in the K-2 kayak. In 1994 he and teammate Maciej Freimut won the K-2 200m, the first time the sprint event had been included in the world championships. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics they reached the K-2 500m final, finishing fifth. Wysocki was also a member of Poland's K-4 1000m team, …
- Yang Wenjun
Yang Wenjun, born 25 December 1983 in Sichuan province, is a Chinese flatwater canoer. He won the Canadian canoe C-2 500m gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics with partner Meng Guanliang - China's first-ever Olympic medal in the sport. Yang's first major international success came at the 2002 Asian Games where, aged only 18, he won two gold C-2 medals with Wang Bing.
- Katalin Kovács
Katalin Kovács is a Hungarian canoer who has won four Olympic medals in the team kayak events. Her most recent success came at the 2006 World Championships where she won 6 gold medals with her partner Natasa Janics.
- Silviu Simioncencu
Silviu Simioncencu is a Romanian flatwater canoer and three-time world champion in the Canadian canoe events. He won his first major title at the European championships in 2002, winning the C2 1000m final with Florin Popescu. In 2003 they became world champions at Gainesville, USA. Simioncencu was also a member of Romania's C4 500m crew which crossed the line second but was later awarded the gold medal after Russian Sergey Ulegin failed a drugs test.
- Aliaksandr Zhukouski
Aliaksandr (Sasha) Zhukouski is an athlete from Belarus. He competes in flatwater canoeing. His first international success came as a member of the Belarus C-4 four-man canoe team. He won a world championship silver medal in Poznań in 2001 and then bronze in Seville in 2002, both times over 1000m. At the 2004 Olympics Zhukouski was chosen to represent Belarus in both individual canoe (C-1) events.
- Nikolay Lipkin
Nikolay Lipkin is a Russian flatwater canoe racer and current (2006) world champion. In 2003 he was a member of the Russia Canadian canoe C-4 500m crew that won the junior world championships in Komatsu, Japan. He also claimed two individual (C-1) medals - silver over 500m and bronze in the 1000m. Lipkin's potential was shown at the European under-23 Championships in Poznań, …
- István Beé
István Beé is a Hungarian flatwater canoer, who has won four world championship gold medals as a member of the Hungarian four-man (K4) kayak 200m crew. His first senior medal, a bronze, came at the 1994 World Championships in Mexico City where he partnered István Szíjjártó in the K2 1000m. He is best known as a 200m specialist however, winning three straight world championship K4 200m gold medals between 1998-2001, as well as a European bronze medal in 2000.
- Ibrahim Rojas
Ibrahim Rojas Blanco is a retired Cuban flatwater canoer. In 2001 he and partner Leobaldo Pereira won Cuba's first-ever world championship gold medal. In all Rojas won three world titles and was Pan-American champion four times. He also won silver medals at both the Sydney and Athens Olympics. All his medals came in the two-man (C2) Canadian canoe discipline, first with Pereira and later with Ledis Balceiro.
- Lutz Altepost
Lutz Altepost (born 6 October 1981 in Emsdetten) is a German flatwater canoer and former world champion. At the 1999 Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, he won two gold medals with Germany's four-man kayak (K4) crew (500m and 1000m). As a senior he has established himself among the elite K1 500m paddlers in international competitions but has yet to win an individual gold medal. In 2002 he finished sixteenth at the Seville world championships.
- Tímea Paksy
Tímea Paksy is a Hungarian canoer who has won eight gold medals in the Flatwater Racing World Championships kayak events. Her most recent success came at the 2006 World Championships where she won 4 gold medals.
- Dalma Benedek
Dalma Benedek (born February 21, 1982) is a Hungarian canoer who has won three gold medals in the Flatwater Racing World Championships kayak events. Her most recent success came at the 2006 World Championships where she won 2 gold medals (K1 200 m and 500 m).
- Marek Twardowski
Marek Twardowski is a Polish flatwater canoer and current (2006) world champion in the individual kayak (K1) 500m. Twardowski was the outstanding kayak sprinter at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Lahti, Finland. He won the K1 500m gold medal as well as silver in the K1 1000m and bronze in the K2 500m with Klaudiusz Kokot. The following year he formed a K2 partnership with Adam Wysocki and quickly established himself on the senior stage.
- Tomasz Mendelski
Tomasz Mendelski (born 21 May 1981 in Olsztyn) is a Polish flatwater canoer. Mendelski has represented Poland in both the K1 200 m and 500 m but specialises in the individual 200 m kayak sprint, the shortest race-distance. At the world championships he finished 6th (2001), 4th (2002) and 6th (2003) before finally making the podium at the 2005 worlds in Zagreb, Croatia, where he won the silver medal. He also won the bronze medal at the 2004 European Championships in Poznań, …
- Loredan Popa
Loredan Popa, born 1980 in Hunedoara, is a Romanian flatwater canoer and former world and European champion in the Canadian canoe C-4 500m event. His first international title came in 2000 when he was a member of the Romania crew which won the C-4 1000m gold medal at the European under-23 championship in Boulogne, France. Two years later in Zagreb, Croatia he doubled up, winning gold medals in both the C-4 500m and 1000m.
- Dragan Zorić
Dragan Zorić is a Serbian flatwater canoer and current (2006) world champion. An international since 1999, he two medals at the European under-23 championships in Zagreb, Croatia - silver in the K2 1000m and bronze in the individual K1 500m. Zorić is now Serbia's top kayak sprinter. He won the first major title of his senior career at the 2005 World Championships, again held in Zagreb, taking the gold medal in the K2 200m sprint with partner Ognjen Filipović.
- Carlos Pérez
Carlos Pérez Rial, (born 12 April 1979 in Cangas, Pontevedra) is a Spanish flatwater canoer and former world champion. Pérez has been an international since 1999. He made his Olympic debut in Athens in 2004. His times earlier in the season suggested he was a genuine medal contender but he was surprisingly eliminated in the K-1 500m semi-final. In 2005 he won his first major titles, …
- Alexander Kovalev
Alexander Kovalev, born 2 March 1975 in Belaya Kalitva, Rostov, is a Russian flatwater canoeist. He is a three-time world championship gold medallist in the Canadian canoe (C) events. Having just missed out on a medal at the Sydney Olympics, he and partner Alexander Kostoglod won two medals at Athens in 2004 - silver in the C-2 1000m and bronze over 500m. A member of the Russian national team since 1997, …