Canoe Sprint at the 1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Olympic canoeing events were held on Lake Sagami in Midori-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, a lake which is about 60 km from Tokyo. Lake Sagami was created in 1947 after the Sagami River was dammed and used for hydroelectric power and recreational use. For the first time since Helsinki in 1952, the rowing events were not contested at the same site as the canoeing events, as they were held at the Toda Rowing Course on the Arakawa River in Saitama Prefecture.

There were seven canoeing events in 1964, two for women and five for men. Women contested kayak singles and doubles over 500 metres. All men’s events were over 1,000 metres with three kayak events (singles, doubles, fours) and two Canadian canoe events (singles, doubles). The men’s kayak fours event was new to the Olympic Program but has been contested at every Olympics since 1964. All events were considered canoe sprint events.

Only three nations won gold medals in 1964 sprint canoeing, with the Soviet Union winning three events and Germany and Sweden two each, but Romania won the most medals overall, with five – two silvers and three bronzes.