Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's C-1 1000 metres

The men's C-1 1000 metres competition in canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing between August 18 and 22. The C-1 event is raced in single-man sprint canoes.

Competition consists of three rounds: the heats, the semifinals, and the final. All boats compete in the heats. The top finisher in each of the three heats advances directly to the final, while the next six finishers (places 2 through 7) in each heat move on to the semifinals. The top three finishers in each of the two semifinals join the heats winners in the final.

Heats took place on August 18, semifinals on August 20, and the final on August 22.

Schedule
All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Heats
Qualification Rules: 1->Final, 2..7->Semifinals, Rest Out

Semifinals
Qualification Rules: 1..3->Final, Rest Out

Final
Menkov led for the early part of the race, but was passed at the 750 meter mark by defending Olympic champion Cal and defending world champion Vajda. The Hungarian pulled away in the final 150 meters to win his gold medal which he dedicated to his fallen teammate György Kolonics, who had died a month earlier training for the 2008 Summer Olympics.