Kayak Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men

Most of the medalists from the 1964 Summer Olympics returned to compete in the K-2 1000 once again at the 1968 edition, although only theDutch runners-up kept their lineup intact by sending Paul Hoekstra and Toon Geurts. Olympic champion Gunnar Utterberg of Sweden brought Lars Andersson, who had helped him win silver at the 1967 European Championships, while bronze medalist Holger Zander of unified Germany, now competing for the Western team, was joined by Berni Schulze, with whom he had captured silver in the K-4 1000 at the 1964 Games. None of these nations, however, would win a medal at the 1968 Games. The reigning World Champions, the Soviet Union, represented by Oleksandr Shaparenko and Volodymyr Morozov, the latter of whom was a 1964 Olympic champion in the K-4 1000, had much better luck.

The Soviets, however, did not look strong in the opening round, as they came in third in their heat behind Romania and Hungary. Romania was represented by Atanasie Sciotnic and Aurel Vernescu, 1964 Olympic bronze medalists in the K-4 1000 (the same tournament where Vernescu also took bronze in the K-1 1000), 1965 European and 1966 World runners-up, and 1967 European champions. Hungary, meanwhile, had been third at the last two Europeans and the most recent Worlds and sent their 1967 European bronze medalists, Csaba Giczy and István Timár-Geng, to Tokyo. The other heats were won by Gerhard Seibold and Günther Pfaff of Austria and Klaus Heinroth and Manfred Ehrhardt of East Germany. The Soviets improved their performance by winning their semi-final heat over Austria and West Germany, while Hungary helped eliminate East Germany by capturing its own heat. Romania, meanwhile was victorious in a third, easier heat. In the final, the podium spots were taken fairly comfortably by the Soviet Union, Hungary, and Austria, none of whom were seriously challenged as they crossed the finish line. Giczy and Timár-Geng also won bronze in the K-4 1000, while Shaparenko also earned silver in the K-1 1000.