It’s one of the most exciting sports on water.

The Olympic sport of canoe/kayak slalom combines a timed slalom race with thundering white water rapids.

And in Canada, it’s safe to say the best slalom paddlers come from Ottawa.

This year’s Canadian Olympic team consists of just two qualifiers, Ottawa’s Michael Tayler in Men’s K1 (kayak,) and Ottawa’s Cameron Smedley in Men’s C1 (canoe.)

What makes Ottawa a hotspot for slalom paddling? Perhaps it’s one of the city’s truly unique hidden gems, the Pumphouse white water course at Lebreton Flats. Ottawa is one of the few cities in the world with a public white water course right downtown.

“It's just a fantastic place that you can be 8 years old and never have been in a boat before and you can come and paddle, or you can be training for an Olympics and still come and train," says Tayler.

Both Tayler and Smedley joined the local club, the Ottawa River Runners, as youngsters and have done the bulk of their training there.

On Wednesday they returned from training in Rio to show their skills in the familiar waters, much to the delight of the young paddlers attending camp there. Ten-year-old Jacob Harley has just started the sport, and was thrilled to see someone who started just like him heading to the Olympics. “I think it's, like, really cool. And if I grow up and I get to do that I would take the chance,” he says.

The two Ottawa Olympians are just as thrilled to be representing Canada in Rio. They are soon heading back to continue their preparations. Smedley says that, unlike some Olympic venues, the Whitewater Stadium was completed months ago, and is in great shape. “We've been able to drive around the area that we're competing in and there's a whole bunch of different venues in that area, the Diadora cluster, and it's just an exciting little area,” he says.

For the 25-year-old Smedley, Rio marks his Olympic Debut. 24-year-old Tayler placed 20th in London four years ago. He was the youngest competitor in the field at the time.

This year, the goal is to turn their homegrown white water skills into Rio-minted Olympic gold. “That’s the goal,” says Tayler. “I’d be lying if I said anything else.”