The canoe slalom venue for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be “absolutely wonderful” according to the International Canoe Federation (ICF), which was in the city to monitor construction again this week. The Whitewater Stadium course in Deodoro is one of the most complex new builds in the Rio 2016 project, but the International Federation praised the progress being made and said work was “on schedule”.

Jean Michel Prono, the ICF technical delegate who will be responsible for approving the course, was in Rio for the seventh time to assist with the project, which is being delivered by the Rio city government. Rio 2016 will be Prono’s seventh consecutive Games as a coach, administrator or ICF delegate in canoe slalom, and he told rio2016.com that he was pleased with what he had seen.

“I’m really impressed by the progress, the construction is going very well, the venue is great,” said the Frenchman. “The general views, landscape and atmosphere of the venue will be absolutely wonderful. Now we are focusing on more specific aspects, such as channel construction, the obstacles – how we create this artificial river in the middle of Rio.

The canoe slalom course and BMX track will remain as a permanent legacy after the Games, called the X-Park (Image: EOM)

“We must shape and tune this river to have a flow of 12-13 cubic metres per second, with waves, eddies and other features,” continued Prono. “It is an artificial river, but it follows the principals of a natural river – and we must play with this: directing, slowing and accelerating the water along the course.

“We will have a very, very good international standard competition course, and we will probably save energy and operating costs, in comparison to London (the 2012 Games), as we learn from one experience to the next.”

Construction is almost completed on the reservoir that will feed the 250m course. Fully modular, man-made obstacles will be placed along the course to simulate the rocks found on natural rapids. An innovation of the Rio 2016 project is the use of pre-casted slabs for the river bed, something which Prono says could be used in future Games.

Jean Michel Prono (in white) and Simon Toulson (second right) talk to Gustavo Nascimento (in blue) in Deodoro (Photo: Rio 2016) 

Accompanying Prono in Rio was ICF General Secretary Simon Toulson, on his third visit to the city. “I was here when there was nothing here, it was a forest,” he said. “The development has been quite amazing, it’s really encouraging. We’re on schedule and it’s looking really, really positive. We haven’t finished and we’re always apprehensive until the water starts running, but compared to other venues and other builds that we’ve seen, we’re on schedule.”

The Whitewater Stadium will have 8,000 temporary seats and will be one of nine venues in the Deodoro Olympic Park, which will host 11 Olympic sports and four Paralympic sports.

Gustavo Nascimento, Rio 2016 Venue Management Director, said: “The canoe slalom course is one of the most complex venues that will be built for the Games, but with the guidance of the International Canoe Federation, we are confident that it will be a superb course on which the world’s best canoeists can shine in 2016. The test event in November will provide us with the opportunity to test the competition area and results system, to ensure that any necessary adjustments are identified and made well in advance of the Games.” 

The course design underwent innovate model testing at Prague’s Czech Technical University last year and there are now 900 people working in two shifts on its construction in Deodoro. After the Games, the Whitewater Stadium and the Olympic BMX Centre will form the X-Park.

“The X-Park will be the sporting legacy of the Games in this region,” said Roberto Ainbinder, Director of Projects at the Municipal Olympic Company (EOM). “The public will be able to use the venues. It is a region that has a large concentration of young people and currently has few options for open-air activities.”