Kayak Singles, 500 metres, Men

Hungary had won the men’s K-1 500 at the last three editions of the World Championships, most recently with Ákos Vereckei, its entry for the event at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Petar Merkov of Bulgaria was the most recent European Champion and World runner-up, while Norway’s Knut Holmann the 1996 runner-up and 1992 bronze medalist, was the only returning Olympic medalist. Javier Correa of Argentina, meanwhile, had taken the title at the 1999 Pan American Games. Vereckei, Merkov, and Correa won their opening heats, but Holmann was defeated by Grzegorz Kotowicz of Poland, the 1997 and 1999 World runner-up and bronze medalist respectively. Holmann was again bested in the semi-finals, this time by Vereckei, while Merkov captured his heat and Kotowicz came in third behind Germany’s Lutz Liwowski, the 1998 World bronze medalist, and Spain’s Jovino González. Correa placed sixth in the latter heat and was eliminated. Michael Kolganov of Israel, the 1998 World runner-up, had a fantastic start in the final and sizeable lead through the first half of the course, but was eventually passed by Holmann and Merkov and thus settled for bronze. This was Israel’s first and, as of 2012, only Olympic canoeing medal, and was somewhat of a consolation for the one that he had missed by 0.042 seconds the previous day in the K-1 1000. Holmann and Merkov, meanwhile, had managed to repeat their performances from that event in the K-1 500.