# Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Qualification
## Summary

| Nation | Slalom | Slalom | Slalom | Slalom | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Flatwater | Total | Total |
| Nation | K-1 M | C-1 M | C-2 M | K-1 W | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women | Boats | Athletes |
| Nation | K-1 M | C-1 M | C-2 M | K-1 W | K-1 500 | K-1 1000 | K-2 500 | K-2 1000 | K-4 1000 | C-1 500 | C-1 1000 | C-2 500 | C-2 1000 | K-1 500 | K-2 500 | K-4 500 | Boats | Athletes |
| Andorra | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Angola | | | | | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Argentina | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | X | | | 3 | 2 |
| Austria | X | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | X | | 3 | 4 |
| Australia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | X | X | X | | | X | X | X | 13 | 16 |
| Belarus | | | | | | | X | | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | 7 | 8 |
| Belgium | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 |
| Brazil | | | | X | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | 3 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | | | | | | | | | | | | X | X | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Canada | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 21 |
| Chile | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| China | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 23 |
| Ivory Coast | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Croatia | | X | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 2 |
| Cuba | | | | | X | X | | | | X | X | X | X | | | | 6 | 4 |
| Czech Republic | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | X | | 5 | 7 |
| Denmark | | | | | X | | X | X | | | | | | X | | | 4 | 4 |
| Finland | | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | X | X | | 4 | 4 |
| France | X | X | X | X | X | | X | X | | X | X | X | X | | X | | 12 | 15 |
| Macedonia | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 16 | 22 |
| Great Britain | X | X | | X | X | X | | | | | | | | X | X | | 7 | 7 |
| Greece | | X | | X | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | 4 | 3 |
| Guam | | | | | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Hungary | | | | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 12 | 16 |
| Ireland | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Israel | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Italy | X | | X | X | X | | X | X | X | | | | | X | X | X | 10 | 16 |
| Japan | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | | | X | X | X | 7 | 9 |
| Kazakhstan | | | | X | X | X | X | | | X | X | X | | | | | 7 | 7 |
| Latvia | | | | | | | X | X | | X | X | | | | | | 4 | 3 |
| Lithuania | | | | | | | X | | | | | X | | | | | 2 | 4 |
| Mexico | | | | | X | X | | | | | X | X | X | | | | 5 | 3 |
| Myanmar | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Netherlands | X | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| New Zealand | | | | X | X | X | | X | | | | | | X | | | 5 | 5 |
| Norway | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Poland | X | X | X | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 21 |
| Portugal | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | X | X | | 4 | 4 |
| Romania | | | | | | | | | | X | X | X | X | | | | 4 | 5 |
| Russia | | X | X | X | X | X | | | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | 11 | 14 |
| Samoa | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Senegal | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | X | | | 3 | 2 |
| Seychelles | | | | | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Slovakia | X | X | X | X | | | | | X | X | X | | | | X | | 8 | 12 |
| Slovenia | X | | | | | X | | | | | | | | X | | | 3 | 3 |
| South Africa | | X | X | | X | X | | | | X | X | | | X | X | X | 9 | 10 |
| South Korea | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | X | X | | X | | | X | | | X | X | | | X | X | X | 9 | 10 |
| Sweden | | | | | X | X | | X | | | | | | X | | | 4 | 3 |
| Switzerland | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Togo | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Ukraine | | | | | | | | | | X | X | X | X | X | | | 5 | 6 |
| United States | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | X | | | 7 | 7 |
| Uzbekistan | | | | | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | 2 | 1 |
| Venezuela | | | | | | | X | X | | | | | | X | | | 3 | 3 |
| Total: 57 NOCs | 21 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 29 | 26 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 25 | 17 | 10 | 289 | 330 |

## Slalom

An NOC may enter up to 1 boat in each slalom event at the Olympics. Qualification places are awarded to the NOC and not to the athletes.
Qualification timeline:
| Event | Date | Venue |
| Senior World Championships | September 19–23, 2007 | Foz do Iguaçu |
| African Championships | January 27, 2008 | Masinga Dam |
| Oceania Championships Archived 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine | March 15–16, 2008 | Penrith |
| American Championships | April 25–27, 2008 | Charlotte |
| European Championships Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine | May 9–11, 2008 | Kraków |
| Asian Championships | May 17–18, 2008 | Nakhon Nayok |
Places:
| Event | K-1 Men | C-1 Men | C-2 Men | K-1 Women |
| Senior World Championships | France Germany Great Britain Italy Spain United States Slovakia Austria Poland Czech Republic Switzerland Slovenia Ireland Canada | Slovakia France Australia Germany Great Britain Poland Spain Czech Republic Russia | Slovakia France Italy Germany Czech Republic China | Germany Slovakia Czech Republic France Great Britain Austria China Andorra Spain Poland Russia Australia Netherlands United States Japan |
| African Championships | Togo | South Africa | South Africa | Algeria* |
| Oceania Championships | Australia | New Zealand** | Australia | New Zealand |
| American Championships | Chile | United States Canada** | United States | Canada Brazil* |
| European Championships | Netherlands Macedonia | Croatia Greece | Poland Russia | Greece Italy |
| Asian Championships | Japan | Japan | Japan | Kazakhstan |
| Host Qualifiers | China | China | - | - |
| TOTAL | 21 | 16 | 12 | 21 |
* Algeria received the African spot, but decided not to take place, leaving its place to Kenya, who chose not to participate, either. According to the classification rules, Brazil received the quota place as the next best country in the American qualification tournament.
** New Zealand received the spot, but decided not to take place, Canada received the quota place as the next best country in the American qualification tournament.

## Flatwater

An NOC may enter 1 boat in each flatwater competition. Qualification place is awarded to the NOC and not to the athletes. The Host Nation is awarded 1 boat in K-1 Men, K-1 Women and C-1 Men events and if they do not qualify through the world championships, the lowest ranked boat from the world championships will be replaced by the boat from the Host Nation.

### First allocation

Qualification timeline:
| Event | Date | Venue |
| Senior World Championships | August 8–12, 2007 | Duisburg |
| African Championships | January 24–27, 2008 | Masinga Dam |
| Oceania Championships Archived 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine | March 12–16, 2008 | Penrith |
| Asian Championships | May 9–11, 2008 | Komatsu |
| European Championships | May 15–18, 2008 | Milano |
| American Championships | May 15–18, 2008 | Montreal |
Minimum boat quota places:
| Event | 2007 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Men | 2007 World Championships | Europe | America | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| K-1 500m | Canada Great Britain Poland Germany United States Hungary Croatia South Africa | Denmark Italy | Argentina | Kazakhstan | Seychelles | Australia | 14 |
| K-1 1000m | Great Britain Canada Norway Australia New Zealand Hungary South Africa Slovenia | Germany Sweden | United States | China | Senegal | Samoa | 14 |
| K-2 500m | Germany Belarus Hungary Lithuania Latvia Canada | Spain France | Venezuela | Kazakhstan | - | - | 10 |
| K-2 1000m | France Poland Hungary Germany Belgium Finland New Zealand | Denmark | Canada | China | - | - | 10 |
| K-4 1000m | Germany Poland Slovakia Hungary Belarus Russia Australia | Italy | Canada | China | - | - | 10 |
| Event | 2007 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Men Canoe | 2007 World Championships | Europe | America | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| C-1 500m | Spain Germany China Poland Canada Romania | Russia Ukraine | Cuba | Kazakhstan | South Africa | Australia | 12 |
| C-1 1000m | Hungary Slovakia Spain Germany Russia Mexico | France Poland | Canada | Uzbekistan | South Africa | Australia | 12 |
| C-2 500m | Hungary Romania Germany Poland China Ukraine | Russia Bulgaria | Canada | Kazakhstan | - | - | 10 |
| C-2 1000m | Germany Cuba Poland Romania Belarus Hungary | Ukraine | Canada | China | - | - | 9 |
| Event | 2007 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Women | 2007 World Championships | Europe | America | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| K-1 500m | Hungary Finland Germany Ukraine United States South Africa Poland Italy | Sweden Great Britain | Canada | China | Senegal | New Zealand | 14 |
| K-2 500m | Germany Hungary France Slovakia Poland Italy | Finland Austria | Canada | China | - | - | 10 |
| K-4 500m | Germany Hungary Poland China Italy Australia South Africa | Spain | Canada | Japan | - | - | 10 |

### Second allocation

The IOC caps the total number of athletes in the flat water competition, which determines the minimum boat quota places listed above. However, an athlete may represent his NOC in more than one event, in which case an additional Athlete Quota Place becomes available. The additional entry is awarded to the next best ranked NOC at the corresponding Continental Qualification in which the NOC of the repeating athlete competes.
Second allocation after global qualification :
* K-1 500m Men: 4 Europe ( Russia, Sweden, France, Israel ), 1 America ( Mexico ), 1 Africa ( Ivory Coast )
* K-1 1000m Men: 3 Europe ( Russia, Portugal, Israel ), 1 America ( Cuba )
* K-2 500m Men: 1 Europe ( Italy )
* K-2 1000m Men: -
* K-4 1000m Men: -
* C-1 500m Men: 4 Europe ( Belarus, France, Greece, Latvia ), 1 America ( Brazil ), 1 Africa ( Angola )
* C-1 1000m Men: 1 Europe ( Greece ), 1 Oceania ( Guam )
* C-2 500m Men: 2 Europe ( Lithuania, France ), 1 America ( Mexico ), 1 Asia ( Uzbekistan )
* C-2 1000m Men: -
* K-1 500m Women: 5 Europe ( Slovenia, Denmark, Russia, Portugal, Belarus ), 1 Asia ( South Korea ), 2 America ( Argentina, Venezuela )
* K-2 500m Women: 4 Europe ( Spain, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Portugal )
* K-4 500m Women: -

### Tripartite Commission Invitation

* K-1 500m Men & K-1 1000m Men: Myanmar, São Tomé and Príncipe

### Additional

Athletes filling a quota place in one event may compete in other events as well
* K-1 500m Men: China, Cuba, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Samoa, Senegal
* K-1 1000m Men: Argentina, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Seychelles
* K-2 500m Men: Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, Poland
* K-2 1000m Men: Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Venezuela
* K-4 1000m Men: -
* C-1 500m Men: Guam, Hungary, Slovakia, Uzbekistan
* C-1 1000m Men: Angola, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine
* C-2 500m Men: Belarus, Cuba
* C-2 1000m Men: Bulgaria, France, Mexico, Russia
* K-1 500m Women: Australia, Spain, Japan
* K-2 500m Women: Australia, Japan, South Africa
* K-4 500m Women: -