Today, Google continues their run of Olympic-themed Doodles
with their third straight interactive Doodle. Since the opening
ceremony, Google has provided us with a different Doodle every day,
showcasing one of the many Olympic sports.And for the last couple of days, those Doodles have been playable. On Tuesday, the Doodle featured a hurdles game. Yesterday, it was a basketbal mini-game. And today, it’s the Canoe Slalom.
Brace yourselves. Maybe you happened to get three gold stars in either of the previous games – but this one is much harder. Not only do you have to alternatively press the arrow keys to give the canoe forward momentum, but you have to deftly guide it through gates and avoid obstacles as well.
This guy’s time is pretty good, but there has already been rumblings of sub-12, even sub-11 second times.
The Slalom Canoe was first held as a competition in 1932 in Switzerland. At first, it was held on flat water, but later changed to the white water rapids that we’ve come to love. It was originally modeled after the ski slalom. In 1972, the event made its Olympic debut – but it didn’t become a permanent Olympic event until 1992.
The course for the Canoe Slalom is 250 meters long, and athletes’ times down the course determine their success. There can be up to 25 gates throughout the course, and failing to properly pass through one can result in a penalty – 2 seconds for touching it, and 50 seconds for missing it altogether.
Events include the Kayak (men’s and women’s) and the Canoe (single and double). This year, France leads the medal count with two, both gold.
And the Canoe Slalom is just one of the many canoe events at these London Games. Check out the IOC’s short video on Olympic canoeing below:
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