Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's C-2 500 metres

The women's C-2 500 metres sprint canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 26 canoeists (13 boats of 2) from 13 nations competed.

Background
This was the debut appearance of the event, replacing the men's K-2 200 metres as the Olympics moved towards gender equality.

The reigning World Champions were Sun Mengya and Xu Shixiao of China.

Qualification
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter only 1 qualified boat (2 canoeists) in the event. A total of 13 qualification places were available, initially allocated as follows:


 * 8 places awarded through the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
 * 5 places awarded through continental tournaments, 1 per continent

Qualifying places were awarded to the NOC, not to the individual canoeists who earned the place.

The Americas continental tournament was cancelled; that place was allocated through the World Championships, with the place going to Japan. The Africa place was reallocated as well, with Europe receiving a second spot.

Competition format
Sprint canoeing uses a four-round format for events with at least 11 boats, with heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. For a 13-boat event, the rounds are as follows:


 * Heats: Two heats of 6 and 7 boats each. The top 2 boats in each heat (4 boats total) advance directly to the semifinals, with all others (9 boats) going to the quarterfinals.
 * Quarterfinals: Two heats of 4 and 5 boats each. The top 3 boats in each heat (6 boats total) advance to the semifinals, with the remaining 3 boats out of medal contention and competing in the consolation Final B.
 * Semifinals: Two heats of 5 boats each. The top 4 boats in each heat (8 boats total) advance to the medal Final A, with the remaining 2 boats out of medal contention and competing in consolation Final B.
 * Finals: Final A consists of the top 8 boats, awarding the medals as well as 4th through 8th place. Final B features the remaining 5 boats, awarding 9th through 13th places.

The course is a flatwater course 9 metres wide. The name of the event describes the particular format within sprint canoeing. The "C" format means a canoe, with the canoeist kneeling and using a single-bladed paddle to paddle and steer (as opposed to a kayak, with a seated canoeist, double-bladed paddle, and foot-operated rudder). The "2" is the number of canoeists in each boat. The "500 metres" is the distance of each race.

Schedule
The event was held over two consecutive days, with two rounds per day. All sessions started at 9:30 a.m. local time, though there are multiple events with races in each session.

Heats
Progression System: 1st-2nd to SF, rest to QF.

Quarterfinals
Progression System: 1st-3rd to SF, rest to Final B.

Semifinals
Progression System: 1st-4th to Final A, rest to Final B.