Canadian Singles, 200 metres, Men

Ukraine’s Yuriy Cheban had been the unexpected winner of the Men’s C-1 200 at the 2012 Summer Olympics and, although he had only won one major international medal in the event since then, gold at the 2014 World Championships, he was still considered a contender in Rio. Meanwhile Valentin Demyanenko, formerly of Ukraine and now competing for Azerbaijan, was out to redeem himself after entering London as the favorite but exiting as the only canoeist eliminated in the preliminaries. Since then he had won the 2013 World Championships and been runner-up at that year’s European Championships. Also a potential threat was Russian Andrey Kraytor, the 2015 and 2016 European Champion and 2013 bronze medallist.

While Kraytor and Demyanenko won their preliminary heats, with the latter posting the fastest time of the round, Cheban conserved his strength in a heat won by Spain’s Alfonso Benavides, the 2014 European runner-up and 2013 World bronze medallist. Thomas Simart of France took the final heat. Kraytor defeated Simart in the semifinals, while both Demyanenko and Cheban finished behind Georgian Zaza Nadiradze, a somewhat surprising result as he was his nation’s first Olympic competitor in canoe. In the third semifinal, Brazil’s Isaquias Queiroz, just two days out of becoming Brazil’s first Olympic canoeing medallist with his silver in the C-1 1000, pulled in ahead of Benavides. The final was an intense affair with most competitors bunched together and every podium spot up for grabs. When the waves had settled, Cheban had successfully defended his title with only 0.214 seconds between him and silver medallist Demyanenko, and less than a second ahead of Simart, who finished last. He had also set an Olympic record of 39.279. Queiroz took bronze in a photo finish only 0.021 seconds ahead of Benavides and, with the silver medal he would earn in the C-2 1000, would become the first Brazilian to win three Olympic medals in one edition of the Games. Another notable competitor was Joaquim Lobo who, despite finishing slowest in the preliminaries, earned distinction as one of Mozambique’s first Olympic canoeists, joining Mussa Chamaune, who had competed in the C-1 1000 two days earlier.