CANOE SPRINT

Rowing is a water sport that uses two types of sport vessels: kayaks and canoes, including racing and slalom.

Canoes were invented over 6,000 years ago by residents of Canada and South America and used for hunting and fishing. The prototype of modern kayaks is Eskimo kayaks.

In the second half of the 19th century, kayak and canoeing clubs were been established in Scandinavia, America, Canada, France and Germany. In Russia, the first rowing club appeared in St. Petersburg in 1858. On July 31, 1860, the first competitions were held, in which prototypes of kayaks, the “water skiing”, participated.

John MacGregor was a great promoter and founder of the new sport. In 1865, on the basis of an Eskimo kayak, he designed and built the Rob-Roy boat, the predecessor of modern kayaks.

At the end of 19th – early 20th centuries, kayaking and canoeing had been developed in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Canada and Russia.

In 1922, the first international canoeing meeting was held in Halle (Germany). In January 1924, the International Canoe Office (Internationale Representantskapet for Kanotidrott, IRK) was established in Copenhagen. A racing kayak (K1) with a length of 5.2 m and a width of 51 cm was approved as a model of a world-class boat. The letters were used to designate boats: K for kayaks and C for canoes.

Kayaking and canoeing was included in the program of the 1936 Olympic Games. The first Olympic champion in canoeing was Austrian Gregor Hradetzky.

In 1946, the International Canoe Federation, ICF, was founded.

At the 1956 Olympic Games in Australia in, the USSR national team won 2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. The first Soviet Olympic champion in canoeing was Elizaveta Dementyeva, a native of the village of Vasilievo, Polesye region, BSSR (she lived in Russia since 1943 and played for Leningrad).

The first Belarusian champions of Europe in 1957 were the kayakers Valentin Naumov, who won 3 gold medals, and Alexander Markovtsov, who won gold and silver awards in a kayak singles.

At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, the Belarusian canoeists Leonid Geishtor and Sergey Makarenko won gold medals in the race of 1,000 meters. The gold medal of the 1972 Olympic Games in the race of 1,000 meters was won by Belarusian Nikolai Gorbachev and athlete from Georgia Victor Kratasyuk.

The most decorated sportsmen of the BSSR are: Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, three-time Olympic champion, nine-time world champion Vladimir Parfenovich, and Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, two-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion Viktor Reneysky.

The national team of the Republic of Belarus in kayaking and canoeing is among the strongest in the world. In 1992, a duet composed of Alexander Maseykov and Dmitry Dovgalenok won in canoeing at a distance of 500 meters, bringing the gold medal to the United CIS team. In 2004, Vadim Makhnev and Roman Petrushenko in a kayak pairs became the bronze medalists of the ХХVIІІ Olympic Games in Athens.

In 2008, Alexander and Andrei Bogdanovich (C2 1,000 m), Alexey Abalmasov, Artur Litvinchuk, Vadim Makhnev and Roman Petrushenko (K4 1,000 m) became champions of the XXIII Olympic Games in Beijing. Vadim Makhnev paired with Roman Petrushenko were third in the canoe race at a distance of 500 m.

At the 2012 Olympics, canoeists Alexander and Andrei Bogdanovich won silver medals at a distance of 1,000 m; kayakers Roman Petrushenko and Vadim Makhnev were second at a distance of 2,000 meters. Women’s kayak fours with Irina Ganchuk, Nadezhda Lepeshko, Marina Litvinchuk and Olga Khudenko won bronze medals at a distance of 500 m.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the crew of kayaks fours Nadezhda Lepeshko, Marina Litvinchuk, Margarita Makhneva and Olga Khudenko won bronze medals.

The Belarus Canoe Association is engaged in the development and promotion of kayaking and canoeing, which are among the priority sports in the Republic of Belarus. Official site: http://canoeing.by

The champions of the First European Games in Baku are Marina Litvinchuk (canoeing at a distance of 5,000 meters), Marina Litvinchuk and Margarita Makhneva (canoe pairs, 200 meters), Alexander and Andrei Bogdanovich (canoe pairs, 1,000 meters).

Bronze medals were won by Roman Petrushenko and Vitaly Belko (kayak pairs, 1000 m), the crew of kayak fours Vitaly Belko, Pavel Medvedev, Roman Petrushenko and Oleg Yurenya (racing at a distance of 1,000 m).

Marina Litvinchuk (March 12,1988, Petrikov District). Honored Master of Sports of Belarus, bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympics in London and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, two-time champion of the First European Games (2015, Baku), world champion, multiple European champion.

Margarita Makhneva (February 2,1992, Khoiniki). Honored Master of Sports of Belarus, bronze medalist of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, champion of the First European Games (2015, Baku), champion and multiple winner of the world and European championships.

Alexander Bogdanovich (April 29, 1982, Osipovichi District). Honored Master of Sports of Belarus, champion of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, silver medalist of the 2012 Olympic in London, champion of the First European Games (2015, Baku), champion and multiple winner of the world and European championships.

Andrei Bogdanovich (October 15,1987, Osipovichi District). Honored Master of Sports of Belarus, champion of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, silver medalist of the 2012 Olympics in London, champion of the First European Games (2015, Baku), champion and multiple winner of the world and European championships.

Roman Petrushenko (December 25, 1980, Kalinkovichi). Honored Master of Sports of Belarus, champion and bronze medalist of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, silver medalist of the 2012 Olympics in London), bronze medalist of the 2004 Olympics in Athens), bronze medalist of the First European Games (2015, Baku) , multiple champion and medalist of world and European championships.

Vitaly Belko (April 17, 1989, Minsk District). The master of sports of international class, bronze medalist of the First European Games (2015, Baku), champion (2018), silver (2015) and bronze (2015, 2016) medalist of the European championships.

Pavel Medvedev (October 23, 1991, Gomel). Master of sports of international class, bronze medalist of the First European Games (2015, Baku), silver medalist of the world championships (2011, 2013).

Oleg Yurenya (May 21, 1990, Mosty District). Master of sports of international class, bronze medalist of the First European Games (2015, Baku), multiple prize winner of the world championships, multiple champion and prize winner of the European championships.

Publications:

1. Гребля на байдарках и каноэ в Республике Беларусь = Canoe sprint in the Republic of Belarus : [65 лет / составители: В. В. Шантарович, К. В. Шарпило ; перевод на английский: О. В. Бобрицкая]. – Минск, 2016. – 168 с.

Information resources:

• The Belarus Canoe Association http://canoeing.by/