Pavol Hochschorner (born 7 September 1979)[1] is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1996 to 2017. Competing together with his twin brother Peter Hochschorner, they are the most successful C2 paddlers in the history of canoe slalom. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing.[2] They retired from wildwater canoeing after the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava.[3]
Hochschorner won three Olympic gold medals in the C2 event, in 2000, 2004 and 2008 and one bronze medal in 2012.
They won their first senior medals at the 1998 European Championships, where they won the individual event and took silver in the team event. The following year brought even more success as they won 3 out of 5 World Cup races as well as the overall title. They also earned their first World Championship medal, a silver in the team event.
The Hochschorners defended their overall World Cup title in 2000 and came to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as favorites. They won the two-run qualifying round to advance to the final. In the first run of the final they took a 2 second penalty which relegated them to the 2nd place behind defending champions Frank Adisson/Wilfrid Forgues. They then produced the fastest time of the day on the second run to clinch their first Olympic gold.
In 2002 they won their first World Championship gold in Bourg Saint Maurice, winning the individual C2 event. They continued to dominate the World Cup scene by winning the overall title 6 years in a row between 1999 and 2004. Thus they came to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens not only as defending champion, but also as overwhelming favorites. They were able to defend their title after posting the fastest times in both qualifying runs as well as the semifinal and then maintaining their advantage in the final.
The Hochschorner brothers (Pavol in front) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
They had to wait until 2007 to win their second world title in Foz do Iguaçu. They completed their golden Olympic hattrick at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Once again they won the qualification, then finished 2nd in the semifinal run, but were able to move up to 1st position with their run in the final. This was followed by another 3 gold medals at the World Championships between 2009 and 2011, which meant they went unbeaten in 5 straight global championships between 2007 and 2011.
Their unbeaten streak ended at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where they were beaten by both British boats, but still came away with a bronze medal. This would be their last major individual medal, not just at the Olympics. Their individual medal count also includes 5 golds and 2 bronzes from World Championships and 6 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze from the European Championships.
They finished their career holding several all-time records in the sport of canoe slalom including most Olympic golds (3), most World Cup titles (10), and most World Cup victories (30). The last two records have been broken by Jessica Fox.
