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The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games have confirmed that the canoeing and kayaking events will be held at the Showground in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.

The site was chosen following the discovery of some contamination at the original Spitalbrook site last October which made the proposed development of the site unviable. The new site remains within the Borough of Broxbourne and is six miles closer to the Olympic Park in east London, meaning a shorter travel time between the venue and the Olympic Village where athletes will stay in 2012.

John Handyside, from the British Canoe Union, gave us his reaction to the news.

"This is fantastic news for canoeing!"

"Since the games were awarded to London, we've been working on a white-water course at Broxbourne, which will eventually be the best course in the country – which of course it has to be for the Olympic Games!

Fiona Pennie is hoping for a medal in Beijing.

"It's going to be an Olympic channel of 250 metres in length with a secondary channel of 150 metres, which will be available for newcomers to the sport and as a lasting legacy to the Olympics.Ìý This course is certainly going to be unique in that the water is going to be pumped, as opposed to a natural gravity fed course. We have many natural rivers in the country, but unfortunately these are dependent on climate – we must have a course which we can guarantee will have a continuous regular flow with no variation for the duration of the Games" explained John.

"It will certainly be an exciting and exhilarating ride down the course for all the competitors!"

And Team GB's medal hopes for canoeing at the forthcoming Beijing Olympics…

John told us: "We're certainly looking very seriously at medals this August in both the flat water and the canoe slalom. We have some very, very good paddlers in training for this year's Games and a successful development programme geared to producing even more medal hopefuls for 2012.

"Remember, Great Britain won medals at the last Olympic Games in canoeing both in white water and flat water – so the future is looking good!"

After the Games, the venue will be developed to become the White Water Canoe Centre in Broxbourne, delivering a major leisure attraction for canoeing and white water rafting as well as a major competition venue for elite events.Ìý The Centre will be managed by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA).