In 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of sprint canoe was first introduced in the Olympic Games program. In 1936, in Berlin, C1 and C2 received their first Olympic medals in 1,000m, and 10,000m races. From 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, the canoe races were held on 500m and 1000m courses.

In 2009 at a meeting in Berlin, for the following 2012 Games in London, the IOC/ICF decided to replace the 500m course with a 200m course, motivating it by the lack of excitement on a 500m course. Athletes all over the world had mixed feelings about this decision because the 500m course has been in the Olympic Games program for over 40 years. 

Later, the athletes realized that replacing 500m with 200m was a great idea, since it gave the athletes the possibility to narrowly specialize and concentrate on the pure sprint nature of the 200m.

Let's not forget that the ICF World Championships retained the 200m, 500m, 1000m, and 5000m courses, and by far the 200m is the most spectacular one to race for the athletes, and to watch for the spectators in the stands. Statistically, the 200m finals draw the largest crowd of both athletes, and spectators.

In December 2015, the IOC will announce plans to exclude the 200m from the Olympic Games program, which will have a tremendous impact on the further development of the Sprint Canoe sport as a whole. This decision can be reversed if the athletes will voice their frustration about this decision, and sign the petition.

Let's not forget that the ultimate dream of every athlete is to race the Olympics. Please, don't take it away from us.

Thank you kindly, on behalf of the sprint canoe community around the world.