RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – In the Olympics, women can paddle a kayak but not a canoe. Some men think it should stay that way.
As the canoe sprint competition wrapped up Saturday, the medalists in the men’s kayak four criticized plans to include women’s canoe single (C1) and double (C2) in the next Olympics.
“I don’t think the women’s canoeing like C1 or C2 belongs (in the) Olympic Games,” said Erik Vlcek, who took silver with Slovakia.
His argument was that women canoeists are just not good enough. A Czech paddler joked that canoeing is harmful for a woman’s posture.
Their comments underscored how gender equality remains an unsettled issue in canoe sprint, a flatwater sport where athletes race in canoes or kayaks.