Canadian Singles, 1,000 metres, Men

There were no previous Olympic C-1 1000 medalists competing in the event at the 1964 Games, although Sweden’s Ove Emanuelsson, runner-up at the 1961 European Championships, had come in fourth in 1960. The reigning European and World Champion, Simion Ismailciuc of Romania, was not present in Tokyo either, with his nation being represented by Andrei Igorov. Detlef Lewe of West Germany, the most recent European and World runner-up, was taking part in the C-2 1000, while Albrecht Müller of East Germany, the reigning European and World bronze medalist, was competing in rowing, which left Jürgen Eschert to represent unified Germany at the Olympics. Finally, the Soviets, first and third at the 1961 Europeans, sent a new competitor, Yevgeny Penyayev, to Tokyo. Thus, while there were favored nations in this event, the gold medal was anyone’s for the taking. Penyayev and Eschert won the opening rounds with room to breathe, and the final was not much different: Eschert captured gold comfortably, with Igorov nabbing silver 0.42 seconds of Penyayev, who earned bronze.