Canoe Sprint at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Dates 12 – 12 August 1948
Medal Events 5

The 1948 canoeing competition was contested at the Henley Royal Regatta Course on the River Thames on London. This was also the site of the 1948 rowing competition and had been the site of the 1908 Olympic rowing events. Women made their Olympic début in canoeing, contesting a kayak singles event over 500 metres. Men had eight events, with four canoe sprint events, all over 1,000 metres in kayak singles and doubles, and Canadian singles and doubles.

There were several other canoeing events conducted in London in 1948 as part of the World Championships. These included the men’s K1-500 and K2-500, a men’s kayak 4 x 500 relay, a men’s K4-1,000 event, and a women’s K2-500 event, but they were not considered part of the Olympic Program.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Kayak Singles, 1,000 metres, Men Olympic 12 August 1948 15 15
Kayak Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men Olympic 12 August 1948 32 16
Canadian Singles, 1,000 metres, Men Olympic 12 August 1948 6 6
Canadian Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men Olympic 12 August 1948 16 8
Kayak Singles, 500 metres, Women Olympic 12 August 1948 10 10
78 (68/10) 16 (16/10)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Kayak Singles, 1,000 metres, Men Gert FredrikssonSWE Frederik Kobberup AndersenDEN Henri EberhardtFRA
Kayak Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men SwedenSWE DenmarkDEN FinlandFIN
Canadian Singles, 1,000 metres, Men Josef HolečekTCH Douglas BennettCAN Robert BoutignyFRA
Canadian Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men CzechoslovakiaTCH United StatesUSA FranceFRA
Kayak Singles, 500 metres, Women Karen HoffDEN Lida van der Anker-DoedensNED Fritzi SchwinglAUT

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Czechoslovakia TCH 2 0 0 2
Sweden SWE 2 0 0 2
Denmark DEN 1 2 0 3
Canada CAN 0 1 0 1
Netherlands NED 0 1 0 1
United States USA 0 1 0 1
France FRA 0 0 3 3
Austria AUT 0 0 1 1
Finland FIN 0 0 1 1