The men's K-1 500 metres event was an individual kayaking event conducted as part of the Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics program.
31 competitors first raced in four heats. The top six finishers from each of the heats and the three fastest finishers advanced directly to the semifinals.
| Heat 1 of 4 Date: Wednesday 27 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 10 | Ákos Vereckei | 1:42.089 | QS | ||
| 2 | 16 | Ian Wynne | 1:42.779 | QS | ||
| 3 | 18 | 1:43.097 | QS | |||
| 4 | 19 | Róbert Erban | 1:43.109 | QS | ||
| 5 | 20 | Antonio Scaduto | 1:43.289 | QS | ||
| 6 | 21 | Anders Svensson | 1:43.349 | QS | ||
| 7 | 22 | Alvydas Duonėla | 1:43.877 | QS | ||
| 8 | 31 | Roger Caumo | 1:49.955 | |||
| Heat 2 of 4 Date: Wednesday 27 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 2 | Petar Merkov | 1:40.227 | QS | ||
| 2 | 3 | Michael Kolganov | 1:40.275 | QS | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1:40.761 | QS | |||
| 4 | 6 | Lutz Liwowski | 1:41.091 | QS | ||
| 5 | 8 | Alan van Coller | 1:41.805 | QS | ||
| 6 | 24 | Pavel Hottmar | 1:44.391 | QS | ||
| 7 | 28 | Sergey Sergin | 1:47.253 | |||
| Heat 3 of 4 Date: Wednesday 27 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 1 | Grzegorz Kotowicz | 1:40.204 | QS | ||
| 2 | 5 | Knut Holmann | 1:40.990 | QS | ||
| 3 | 9 | 1:41.854 | QS | |||
| 4 | 11 | Vladimir Grushikhin | 1:42.430 | QS | ||
| 5 | 13 | Mihai Apostol | 1:42.562 | QS | ||
| 6 | 14 | Anton Ryakhov | 1:42.694 | QS | ||
| 7 | 17 | Hain Helde | 1:42.772 | QS | ||
| 8 | 29 | Nader Eivazi | 1:49.306 | |||
| Heat 4 of 4 Date: Wednesday 27 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 7 | Javier Correa | 1:41.557 | QS | ||
| 2 | 12 | Kimmo Latvamäki | 1:42.535 | QS | ||
| 3 | 15 | 1:42.733 | QS | |||
| 4 | 23 | Stein Jorgensen | 1:44.185 | QS | ||
| 5 | 25 | Anatoli Tishchenko | 1:44.707 | QS | ||
| 6 | 26 | Nam Sung-Ho | 1:45.163 | QS | ||
| 7 | 27 | Adrian Bachmann | 1:45.187 | QS | ||
| 8 | 30 | Gary Mawer | 1:49.705 | |||
| Heats Overall Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Heat | Place | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | Grzegorz Kotowicz | 3 | 1 | 1:40.204 | QS | ||
| 2 | Petar Merkov | 2 | 1 | 1:40.227 | QS | ||
| 3 | Michael Kolganov | 2 | 2 | 1:40.275 | QS | ||
| 4 | Jovino González | 2 | 3 | 1:40.761 | QS | ||
| 5 | Knut Holmann | 3 | 2 | 1:40.990 | QS | ||
| 6 | Lutz Liwowski | 2 | 4 | 1:41.091 | QS | ||
| 7 | Javier Correa | 4 | 1 | 1:41.557 | QS | ||
| 8 | Alan van Coller | 2 | 5 | 1:41.805 | QS | ||
| 9 | 3 | 3 | 1:41.854 | QS | |||
| 10 | Ákos Vereckei | 1 | 1 | 1:42.089 | QS | ||
| 11 | Vladimir Grushikhin | 3 | 4 | 1:42.430 | QS | ||
| 12 | Kimmo Latvamäki | 4 | 2 | 1:42.535 | QS | ||
| 13 | Mihai Apostol | 3 | 5 | 1:42.562 | QS | ||
| 14 | Anton Ryakhov | 3 | 6 | 1:42.694 | QS | ||
| 15 | 4 | 3 | 1:42.733 | QS | |||
| 16 | Ian Wynne | 1 | 2 | 1:42.779 | QS | ||
| 17 | Hain Helde | 3 | 7 | 1:42.772 | QS | ||
| 18 | 1 | 3 | 1:43.097 | QS | |||
| 19 | Róbert Erban | 1 | 4 | 1:43.109 | QS | ||
| 20 | Antonio Scaduto | 1 | 5 | 1:43.289 | QS | ||
| 21 | Anders Svensson | 1 | 6 | 1:43.349 | QS | ||
| 22 | Alvydas Duonėla | 1 | 7 | 1:43.877 | QS | ||
| 23 | Stein Jorgensen | 4 | 4 | 1:44.185 | QS | ||
| 24 | Pavel Hottmar | 2 | 6 | 1:44.391 | QS | ||
| 25 | Anatoli Tishchenko | 4 | 5 | 1:44.707 | QS | ||
| 26 | Nam Sung-Ho | 4 | 6 | 1:45.163 | QS | ||
| 27 | Adrian Bachmann | 4 | 7 | 1:45.187 | QS | ||
| 28 | Sergey Sergin | 2 | 7 | 1:47.253 | |||
| 29 | Nader Eivazi | 3 | 8 | 1:49.306 | |||
| 30 | Gary Mawer | 4 | 8 | 1:49.705 | |||
| 31 | Roger Caumo | 1 | 8 | 1:49.955 | |||
The top three finishers in each of the three semifinals advanced to the final.
| Heat 1 of 3 Date: Friday 29 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 1 | Ákos Vereckei | 1:39.574 | QF | ||
| 2 | 2 | Knut Holmann | 1:39.964 | QF | ||
| 3 | 5 | Michael Kolganov | 1:40.426 | QF | ||
| 4 | 11 | 1:41.482 | ||||
| 5 | 14 | Pavel Hottmar | 1:41.920 | |||
| 6 | 20 | Antonio Scaduto | 1:43.432 | |||
| 7 | 22 | Mihai Apostol | 1:43.444 | |||
| 8 | 23 | Stein Jorgensen | 1:44.182 | |||
| 9 | 25 | Hain Helde | 1:45.916 | |||
| Heat Heat 2 of 3 Date: Friday 29 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 3 | Petar Merkov | 1:40.008 | QF | ||
| 2 | 4 | Alvydas Duonėla | 1:40.368 | QF | ||
| 3 | 7 | Alan van Coller | 1:40.656 | QF | ||
| 4 | 8 | 1:40.884 | ||||
| 5 | 13 | Kimmo Latvamäki | 1:41.640 | |||
| 6 | 15 | Róbert Erban | 1:42.300 | |||
| 7 | 21 | 1:43.434 | ||||
| 8 | 26 | Nam Sung-Ho | 1:46.008 | |||
| Vladimir Grushikhin | DISQ | |||||
Gurshikhin's disqualification was not disclosed in the official report.
| Heat 3 of 3 Date: Friday 29 September 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Nation | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | 6 | Lutz Liwowski | 1:40.586 | QF | ||
| 2 | 9 | 1:41.168 | QF | |||
| 3 | 10 | Grzegorz Kotowicz | 1:41.198 | QF | ||
| 4 | 12 | Ian Wynne | 1:41.485 | |||
| 5 | 16 | Anatoli Tishchenko | 1:42.548 | |||
| 6 | 17 | Javier Correa | 1:42.784 | |||
| 7 | 18 | Anders Svensson | 1:43.070 | |||
| 8 | 19 | Anton Ryakhov | 1:43.292 | |||
| 9 | 24 | Adrian Bachmann | 1:45.866 | |||
Overall Results Semi-Finals
| Semi-Finals Overall Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Heat | Place | Time | Qual. | |
| 1 | Ákos Vereckei | 1 | 1 | 1:39.574 | QF | ||
| 2 | Knut Holmann | 1 | 2 | 1:39.964 | QF | ||
| 3 | Petar Merkov | 2 | 1 | 1:40.008 | QF | ||
| 4 | Alvydas Duonėla | 2 | 2 | 1:40.368 | QF | ||
| 5 | Michael Kolganov | 1 | 3 | 1:40.426 | QF | ||
| 6 | Lutz Liwowski | 3 | 1 | 1:40.586 | QF | ||
| 7 | Alan van Coller | 2 | 3 | 1:40.656 | QF | ||
| 8 | 2 | 4 | 1:40.884 | ||||
| 9 | Jovino González | 3 | 2 | 1:41.168 | QF | ||
| 10 | Grzegorz Kotowicz | 3 | 3 | 1:41.198 | QF | ||
| 11 | 1 | 4 | 1:41.482 | ||||
| 12 | Ian Wynne | 3 | 4 | 1:41.485 | |||
| 13 | Kimmo Latvamäki | 2 | 5 | 1:41.640 | |||
| 14 | Pavel Hottmar | 1 | 5 | 1:41.920 | |||
| 15 | Róbert Erban | 2 | 6 | 1:42.300 | |||
| 16 | Anatoli Tishchenko | 3 | 5 | 1:42.548 | |||
| 17 | Javier Correa | 3 | 6 | 1:42.784 | |||
| 18 | Anders Svensson | 3 | 7 | 1:43.070 | |||
| 19 | Anton Ryakhov | 3 | 8 | 1:43.292 | |||
| 20 | Antonio Scaduto | 1 | 6 | 1:43.432 | |||
| 21 | 2 | 7 | 1:43.434 | ||||
| 22 | Mihai Apostol | 1 | 7 | 1:43.444 | |||
| 23 | Stein Jorgensen | 1 | 8 | 1:44.182 | |||
| 24 | Adrian Bachmann | 3 | 9 | 1:45.866 | |||
| 25 | Hain Helde | 1 | 9 | 1:45.916 | |||
| 26 | Nam Sung-Ho | 2 | 8 | 1:46.008 | |||
| Vladimir Grushikhin | 2 | DISQ | |||||
| Final Date: Sunday 1 October 2000 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time | |
| Knut Holmann | 1:57.847 | |||
| Petar Merkov | 1:58.393 | |||
| Michael Kolganov | 1:59.563 | |||
| 4 | Ákos Vereckei | 2:00.145 | ||
| 5 | Lutz Liwowski | 2:00.259 | ||
| 6 | Jovino González | 2:03.889 | ||
| 7 | Alvydas Duonėla | 2:04.591 | ||
| 8 | Alan van Coller | 2:04.981 | ||
| 9 | Grzegorz Kotowicz | 2:07.711 | ||
The final was delayed six hours to strong winds of 50 mph (80 km/h), a race official sinking in his aluminum dinghy, start lanes for lanes seven and eight being broken prior to the start, and 30 spectators stripping to their underwear to swim to the medal podium only to be taken into custody by police and security personnel. Except for Kolganov edging pre-Olympic favorite Vereckei at the line, the race itself was generally uneventful.