La mise en spectacle d'un sport olympique

le canoë de slalom

Abstract

This article is based on historical analysis of the conditions of emergence of the spectacle in canoe slalom. It studies the relations between slalom canoeing and urbanization process. Although the original activity was practised on rivers, this sport took place from torrents to artificial areas. Wild water slalom has been an Olympic discipline since 1972. We can emit the hypothesis of an urban development accompanying the distribution of the practice as a spectacle. The historic study of the Olympic Games shows that athletes prefer artificial sites to natural ones. Nowadays Wild water Stadiums are situated in big cities. Canoeing remains an outdoor sport, even if it develops in urban areas.