Canoe Sprint London Olympics 2012

Eton Dorney Venue

Eton Dorney will be the venue for Canoe Sprint events during the London 2012 Games. Requiring sustained bursts of speed and power, Canoe Sprint at the London 2012 Games will offer thrilling, down-to-the-wire finishes. The histories of the canoe and the kayak go back hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that the first official canoe and kayak races were held. The sport now takes two forms, the oldest of which is the power-packed, fiercely competitive Canoe Sprint discipline.

About Eton Dorney

Eton Dorney Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake is a world-class venue that will be used for the Rowing events during the London 2012 Games.

The venue is a 2,200m, eight-lane rowing course with a separate return lane constructed to international standards. It is set in a 400-acre park with a nature conservation area. In 2006, it hosted the Rowing World Championships, with high praise from both competitors and spectators. The venue’s existing facilities have been enhanced for athlete warm-up and Canoe Sprint events during the Games. These works included the installation of a new 50m-span bridge over a widened entrance to the return lake for vehicles and pedestrians.

A cut-through between the competition lake and the return lake, and a new bridge over this cut-through area have also been constructed. The new cut-through enables rowers to move between the rowing course and return lake. To facilitate these works, the existing gravel/stone access road to the competition venue has been upgraded.