Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing at the international level since 1994. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals, which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times.

Tony Estanguet is a French slalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1. He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012.