Canoe sprint racing goes back to 1869, when John MacGregor organised the first regatta at the "Canoe Club" he had founded in 1866 in London.

The first European Championships were held in 1933, in Prague. Canoeing became part of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, and sprint canoeing has been part of the Olympics ever since. The modern International Canoe Federation (ICF) was established in 1946, and today has 106 federation members.

The program of Kayak-Canoe sprint competition at Sydney 2000 included 12 events, 9 for men and 3 for women. Races were over distances of 1000m and 500m. Altogether there were over 200 crews and 275 competitors. The standard sprint program also includes events over 200m and 5000m.

The most successful Olympic competitor was Sweden's Gert Fredericson, who between 1948 and 1969 captured 6 gold medals and one bronze.