# Canoeing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

This article details the canoeing at the 2016 Summer Olympics qualifying phase. Similar to 2012 format, a qualification system has been set up for both slalom and sprint canoeing at these games. The quotas have already been set for each event by the International Canoe Federation in August 2014.

## Summary

| NOC | Slalom | Slalom | Slalom | Slalom | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Sprint | Total | Total |
| NOC | K1 M | C1 M | C2 M | K1 W | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women | Women | Boats | Athletes |
| NOC | K1 M | C1 M | C2 M | K1 W | K1 200 | K1 1000 | K2 200 | K2 1000 | K4 1000 | C1 200 | C1 1000 | C2 1000 | K1 200 | K1 500 | K2 500 | K4 500 | Boats | Athletes |
| Argentina | | X | | | X | | | | X | | | | | | | X | 4 | 10 |
| Australia | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | X | | X | X | | 11 | 18 |
| Austria | X | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Azerbaijan | X | | | | | | | | | X | | | X | X | | | 4 | 4 |
| Belgium | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Brazil | X | X | X | X | | X | | | | X | | X | | X | | | 8 | 10 |
| Bulgaria | | | | | | X | | | | | X | | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Canada | X | X | | | X | X | X | | | | X | | X | X | X | X | 10 | 11 |
| China | X | X | | X | | | | | | X | X | | | X | X | X | 8 | 10 |
| Cook Islands | X | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Cuba | | | | | X | | | X | | | | X | X | | | | 4 | 6 |
| Czech Republic | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | X | | X | X | | | | | 9 | 12 |
| Denmark | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | X | X | 3 | 5 |
| Ecuador | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Egypt | | | | | X | | | | | | | | X | | | | 2 | 2 |
| France | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | X | | | X | 13 | 17 |
| Georgia | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | X | X | X | X | | X | X | X | | | X | | | X | X | X | 11 | 16 |
| Great Britain | X | X | X | X | | | X | | | | | | | X | X | X | 8 | 13 |
| Hungary | | | | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 12 | 18 |
| Italy | X | | | X | X | | | X | X | | X | | | | | | 4 | 4 |
| Japan | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 5 |
| Kazakhstan | | | | X | X | | | X | X | X | | | X | X | X | | 8 | 13 |
| Latvia | | | | | X | | | | | | X | | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Lebanon | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Lithuania | | | | | X | | X | X | | X | | | | | | | 4 | 6 |
| Moldova | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Morocco | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Mexico | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Mozambique | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | 1 | 2 |
| New Zealand | X | | | X | | X | | | | | X | | X | X | | X | 7 | 9 |
| Nigeria | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Palau | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | 1 | 1 |
| Poland | X | X | X | X | X | | | | | | X | X | X | X | X | X | 11 | 14 |
| Portugal | | | | | | X | | | X | X | | | X | X | | | 5 | 7 |
| Russia | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | X | X | X | X | X | | X | | 12 | 17 |
| Samoa | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | 1 | 1 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Senegal | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Serbia | | | | | X | X | X | X | | | | | X | | X | X | 7 | 10 |
| Slovakia | X | X | X | X | | X | | X | X | | | | | X | | | 8 | 12 |
| Slovenia | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | | X | X | | | 6 | 6 |
| South Africa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | 1 | 1 |
| South Korea | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 |
| Spain | | X | | X | X | X | X | | X | X | | | X | | | | 8 | 11 |
| Sweden | X | | | | X | | | | | | | | X | | X | | 4 | 5 |
| Tunisia | | | | | | X | | | | X | | | | X | | | 3 | 3 |
| Turkey | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Ukraine | | | | X | | | | | | X | X | X | | | | X | 5 | 9 |
| United States | X | X | X | X | | | | | | | | | | X | | | 5 | 6 |
| Uzbekistan | | | | | | X | | | | | X | X | X | | | | 4 | 4 |
| Total: 51 NOCs | 21 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 179 | 314 |

## Slalom

For the slalom events, the men competed in C-1, C-2, and K-1. Women competed in K-1 only. Qualifications were allocated to NOCs, not to specific competitors. NOCs were limited to one boat per event. Qualification spots were earned as follows:
* World Championships: The top placed boats (considering only one boat per NOC) earned their NOCs a qualification. 15 qualification spots were available in the K-1 events, 10 in the C-1, and 8 boats (16 athletes) in the C-2.
* Continental Qualification Events: Only NOCs that did not earn qualification in a given event through the World Championships were eligible. For the K-1 and C-1 events, 1 qualification spot was available for each continent. For the C-2 event, only 3 total qualification spots were available; these were assigned to continents based on World Championship results: the best ranked non-qualifying NOCs from three different continents at the World Championships earned their continent one boat qualification place.
* Host country: Brazil, as the host country, was guaranteed one entry in each event if not already qualified.
* Tripartite Commission: Canoeing (both slalom and sprint) had a total of 2 qualification spots that would be awarded through Tripartite Commission invitations.
* Reallocation: Unused quota spots were reallocated. In practice, this was used where one of an NOC's C-2 competitors also competed in the C-1 event, freeing up the athlete quota spot that NOC had earned in the C-1.

### Timeline

| Event | Date | Venue |
| 2015 Pan American Games | July 18–19, 2015 | Toronto, Canada |
| 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships | September 16–20, 2015 | Lee Valley, Great Britain |
| 2015 African Canoeing Championships | November 6–8, 2015 | Sagana, Kenya |
| 2016 Oceania Canoeing Championships | February 19–21, 2016 | Penrith, Australia |
| 2016 Asian Canoe Slalom Championships | April 23–24, 2016 | Toyama, Japan |
| 2016 European Canoe Slalom Championships | May 13–15, 2016 | Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia |

### Qualification table

| Event | Men's K-1 | Men's C-1 | Men's C-2 | Women's K-1 |
| Host nation | Brazil | Brazil | Brazil | — |
| 2015 World Championships | Czech Republic Slovenia Germany Italy United States Poland France Azerbaijan Russia Great Britain Japan Austria Slovakia New Zealand Australia Cook Islands* | Slovakia Slovenia Great Britain Germany France Poland Japan Russia Czech Republic United States | Great Britain Poland Germany Slovenia France Slovakia Russia Czech Republic | Spain Australia Germany Czech Republic Great Britain Slovakia New Zealand China Brazil Austria France Russia Slovenia Poland Japan Cook Islands* |
| 2015 Pan American Games | Canada | Canada | United States | Canada** United States |
| 2015 African Championships | Nigeria | Senegal | — | Morocco |
| 2016 Oceania Championships | — | Australia | — | — |
| 2016 Asian Championships | China | China | Japan | Kazakhstan |
| 2016 European Championships | Netherlands Sweden | Spain | Switzerland | Ukraine |
| Tripartite Invitation | — | Lebanon | — | — |
| Reallocation | — | Argentina Portugal | — | Italy |
| Total | 21 | 19 | 12 | 21 |
Italic: National federation has qualified a boat but the athlete that did this was already counted in another boat * No continental qualifying race held as less than three nations are eligible. ** National federation is limited to two athlete quota places at a continental qualifying event.

## Sprint

NOCs are limited to one boat per event, and in kayaking to 8 men and 6 women positions. Qualification enables an NOC to participate, not necessarily in the person of the paddler who gained the place. Quotas given are for boats. Qualification spots were earned as follows:
* World Championships: The top placed boats (considering only one boat per NOC) earned their NOCs a qualification. 8 boat qualification spots were available in the K-1 events (1 of which was reserved for the host country in the men's 1000 metre and women's 500 metre events), 6 in the K-2 events, 10 in the K-4 events, 7 in the C-1 events (1 of which was reserved for the host country in the 1000 metre event), and 6 in the C-2 event.
* Continental Qualification Events: Only NOCs that did not earn qualification in a given event through the World Championships were eligible. For the K-1, C-1, and C-2 events, 1 boat qualification spot was available for each continent (except that Europe received 2 spots). For the K-2 events, Europe was guaranteed a boat qualification spot but only 3 total qualification spots were available for the remaining 4 continents; these were assigned to continents based on World Championship results: the best ranked non-qualifying NOCs from three different continents at the World Championships earned their continent one boat qualification place.
* Host country: Brazil, as the host country, was guaranteed entries in certain events as listed in the World Championship section.
* Tripartite Commission: Canoeing (both slalom and sprint) had a total of 2 qualification spots that would be awarded through Tripartite Commission invitations.
* Reallocation: Unused quota spots were reallocated. In practice, this was used where some of an NOC's competitors in a larger boat category also competed in a smaller category, freeing up the athlete quota spot that NOC had earned in the smaller category.

### Timeline

| Event | Date | Venue |
| 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships | August 19–23, 2015 | Milan, Italy |
| 2015 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships | November 4–7, 2015 | Palembang, Indonesia |
| 2016 Oceania Canoeing Championships | February 12–14, 2016 | Adelaide, Australia |
| 2016 African Sprint Qualifier | March 29 – April 2, 2016 | Pretoria, South Africa |
| 2016 European Sprint Qualifier | May 18–19, 2016 | Duisburg, Germany |
| 2016 Pan American Sprint Qualifier | May 19–20, 2016 | Gainesville, United States |

### Qualification table

| Event | 2015 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Men Kayak | 2015 World Championships | Europe | Americas | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| K-1 200 m | Canada France Sweden Lithuania Russia Ecuador Poland Czech Republic Argentina Serbia | Spain Italy Latvia | Brazil Cuba | Kazakhstan | South Africa Egypt | Australia | 14 |
| K-1 1000 m | Denmark Czech Republic Portugal Germany Belarus Australia Bulgaria Slovakia Serbia Belgium^ | Hungary Russia Spain | Canada | Uzbekistan | Tunisia | New Zealand | 14 |
| K-2 200 m | Hungary Russia∞ Serbia France Great Britain Germany Lithuania^ Canada | Spain | Brazil | South Korea | — | Australia | 10 |
| K-2 1000 m | Germany Australia Serbia Slovakia BelarusΔ France Lithuania^ | Hungary | Cuba | Kazakhstan | — | — | 10 |
| K-4 1000 m | Argentina BelarusΔ Czech Republic Australia Hungary Kazakhstan Portugal Romania Russiaº Slovakia Spain | — | — | — | — | — | 11 |
| Event | 2015 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Men Canoe | 2015 World Championships | Europe | Americas | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| C-1 200 m | Belarus China Brazil Russia∞ Lithuania Azerbaijan Hungary Portugal Ukraine^ | Spain Georgia | Mexico | Kazakhstan Iran | Tunisia | Cook Islands | 13 |
| C-1 1000 m | Germany Czech Republic Moldova Ukraine Russia Poland Hungary France^ | Latvia Italy Bulgaria | Canada | Uzbekistan China | São Tomé and Príncipe | New Zealand | 13 |
| C-2 1000 m | Brazil Hungary Poland Ukraine Russia BelarusΔ | RomaniaΔ Czech Republic Moldova | Cuba | Uzbekistan | Mozambique | Australia | 12 |
| Event | 2015 World Championships | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Continental qualification | Total |
| Women | 2015 World Championships | Europe | Americas | Asia | Africa | Oceania | Total |
| K-1 200 m | New Zealand Poland Spain Azerbaijan Cuba Russia∞ France Kazakhstan Hungary Serbia Slovenia Turkey | Germany Sweden Slovakia Portugal Austria | Canada | Uzbekistan | Egypt | Samoa | 14 |
| K-1 500 m | New Zealand Hungary China Poland Azerbaijan Slovenia Belarus Great Britain Portugal South Africa Canada Brazil | Germany Slovakia | United States | Kazakhstan | Tunisia | Australia Palau$^{TR}$ | 15 |
| K-2 500 m | Hungary Serbia Germany Poland Russia∞ China Denmark Romania^Δ Great Britain | Sweden Austria | Canada | Kazakhstan | — | Australia | 10 |
| K-4 500 m | Argentina Belarus Canada* China Denmark^ France^ Germany Great Britain Hungary New Zealand Poland Serbia Ukraine | — | — | — | — | — | 11 |
* Italic: National federation has qualified a boat but the athlete that did this was already counted in another boat
* $^{TR}$: National federation has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission
* ^: ICF decided that some of the events in Africa and Oceania needed to be reattributed to the World Championships lists because the events seen as invalid due to lack of eligible competitors.
* º: ICF decided that two quota places were combined and reallocated to the next best ranked NOC not qualified in a larger boat category, should they be available from team boats in the same gender and category.
* Δ: On July 16, 2016, the ICF bans Romania and Belarus sprint teams for a year due to systemic doping.
* $^∞$ On July 25, the ICF revoked four entries held by Russia, as a response to the previous doping bans and to the implications in the 'disappearing positive methodology' set out in the McClaren Report on the nation's state-sponsored doping.
* *: Canada qualified a composite boat, as it qualified four athlete quotas in the other three women's kayak events.