Canoeing at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's C-1 500 metres

The men's C-1 500 metres event was an open-style, individual canoeing event conducted as part of the Canoeing at the 1996 Summer Olympics program.

Heats
17 competitors were entered. The top two finishers in each heat moved on to the final with the others were relegated to the semifinals.

Semifinals
Two semifinals were held with the top two finishers of each semifinal and the fastest third-place finisher advancing to the final.

Final
The final took place on August 4.

Doktor won his second gold medal by making his move at the 350 meter mark. Defending Olympic champion Bukhalov's disqualification was not disclosed in the official report.