This sport began to develop in Victorian England in the 17th and early 18th centuries. In the 19th century, academic rowing (rowing on academic boats with sliding seats and outrigger oarlocks) gained popularity in various European countries and from there spread to North America and Australia.
In 1822, the English Amateur Rowing Association was founded; at the end of the century, similar organizations appeared in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and other countries. In 1892, the International Federation of Rowing Societies was created, and from 1893 world championships in academic rowing began to be held. This type of rowing was included in the Olympic Games program in 1900 in Paris. At that time, only men were allowed to compete, competing in five events on the program. Today, both men and women participate, and the number of events has increased significantly. In the history of the Olympic Games, the greatest number of medals were won by representatives of the USA, GDR, and USSR.
Competitions in kayak rowing (the athlete sits in the boat and paddles with a double-bladed paddle) and canoe rowing (the athlete kneels on the bottom of the boat with one knee and paddles with a single-bladed paddle) began to be held in the middle of the 19th century. In the mid-1860s, the first kayak rowing clubs appeared in Scotland and England, then in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and other European countries, as well as in the USA. Gradually, canoe rowing also began to develop in these clubs. At the turn of the century, international competitions began to be held. In 1924, an international federation was created, and at the Games in Paris, demonstration canoe races were held. Kayak and canoe rowing firmly entered the Olympic Games program in 1936, and the most titled rowers during this time were representatives of Hungary, USSR, Romania, Sweden, and GDR.
Canoe and kayak slalom (when navigating a water course, athletes pass a certain number of "gates") was first included in the Olympic Games program in 1972, but was subsequently dropped. Slalom rowers managed to return to the Olympic family only in 1992 and have become quite firmly established there. Historically, the most successful slalom rowers are Germans, followed by the French, Americans, Czechs, Italians, Slovaks, Australians, Austrians, English, and Slovenes.