Kayak Singles, 500 metres, Women

An almost entirely new cadre of women canoeists had developed between the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics, among whom Therese Zenz was the star in the K-1 500, having won it at the 1954 World Championships. At the 1952 Games (where she finished ninth) and the 1954 Worlds she had represented the French protectorate of Saar (1947-1956), whose athletes were competing under the unified German banner by 1956. Austria’s Fritzi Schwingl, the 1948 Olympic bronze medalist, had been the runner-up at the most recent World Championships, but her nation was represented by Helga Hellebrand in Melbourne. Denmark, meanwhile, sent 1954 World bronze medalist Tove Søby. Søby and Zenz were the heat winners in the opening round, with the latter setting an Olympic record in the process. In the final, however, Zenz found herself battling Yelizaveta Dementyeva of the Soviet Union for gold and lost the fight, settling for silver instead. Søby followed a few seconds later, claiming bronze.