The women's K-1 500 metres competition in canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing.
Competition consisted of three rounds: the heats, the semifinals, and the final. Top finishers in each of the three heats advanced directly to the final, while the next six finishers (placed 2 through 7) in each heat moved on to the semifinals. Top three finishers in each of the two semifinals joined the heat winners in the final.
Heats took place on August 19, semifinals on August 21, and the final on August 23.
All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)
| Date | Time | Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, August 19, 2008 | 16:40-17:10 | Heats | |||
| Thursday, August 21, 2008 | 16:20-16:40 | Semifinals | |||
| style=background:lemonchiffon | Saturday, August 23, 2008 | style=background:lemonchiffon | 16:20-16:35 | style=background:lemonchiffon | Final |
Qualification Rules: Winner->Finals, 2...6->Semifinals, Rest Out
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katalin Kovács | 1:49.424 | QF | ||
| 2 | Maria Teresa Portela | 1:51.654 | QS | ||
| 3 | Jennifer Hodson | 1:51.655 | QS | ||
| 4 | Shinobu Kitamoto | 1:52.148 | QS | ||
| 5 | Chantal Meek | 1:53.374 | QS | ||
| 6 | Małgorzata Chojnacka | 1:53.635 | QS | ||
| 7 | Karen Furneaux | 1:54.065 | QS | ||
| 8 | Estefania Fontanini | 2:00.291 | |||
| 9 | Khathia Bâ | 2:17.740 |
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josefa Idem | 1:48.864 | QF | ||
| 2 | Zhong Hongyan | 1:49.440 | QS | ||
| 3 | Lucy Wainwright | 1:50.103 | QS | ||
| 4 | Carrie Johnson | 1:50.221 | QS | ||
| 5 | Henriette Engel Hansen | 1:52.773 | QS | ||
| 6 | Teresa Portela | 1:53.761 | QS | ||
| 7 | Anne Rikala | 1:54.294 | QS | ||
| 8 | Tatsiana Fedarovich | 1:57.881 |
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katrin Wagner-Augustin | 1:48.875 | QF | ||
| 2 | Inna Osypenko | 1:49.776 | QS | ||
| 3 | Špela Ponomarenko | 1:49.973 | QS | ||
| 4 | Sofia Paldanius | 1:51.110 | QS | ||
| 5 | Yuliana Salkhova | 1:51.628 | QS | ||
| 6 | Erin Taylor | 1:52.517 | QS | ||
| 7 | Zulmarys Sánchez | 1:57.728 | QS | ||
| 8 | Lee Sun-Ja | 1:58.140 |
Qualification Rules: 1..3->Final, Rest Out
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inna Osypenko | 1:51.558 | QF | ||
| 2 | Lucy Wainwright | 1:52.580 | QF | ||
| 3 | Jennifer Hodson | 1:53.209 | QF | ||
| 4 | Carrie Johnson | 1:53.721 | |||
| 5 | Sofia Paldanius | 1:53.797 | |||
| 6 | Teresa Portela | 1:54.831 | |||
| 7 | Chantal Meek | 1:54.876 | |||
| 8 | Małgorzata Chojnacka | 1:55.619 | |||
| 9 | Zulmarys Sánchez | 2:02.764 |
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhong Hongyan | 1:53.163 | QF | ||
| 2 | Yuliana Salkhova | 1:53.603 | QF | ||
| 3 | Špela Ponomarenko | 1:53.812 | QF | ||
| 4 | Anne Rikala | 1:54.025 | |||
| 5 | Erin Taylor | 1:54.300 | |||
| 6 | Maria Teresa Portela | 1:54.981 | |||
| 7 | Karen Furneaux | 1:55.145 | |||
| 8 | Henriette Engel Hansen | 1:55.960 | |||
| 9 | Shinobu Kitamoto | 2:01.105 |
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inna Osypenko | 1:50.673 | ||||
| Josefa Idem | 1:50.677 | ||||
| Katrin Wagner-Augustin | 1:51.022 | ||||
| 4 | Katalin Kovács | 1:51.139 | |||
| 5 | Zhong Hongyan | 1:52.220 | |||
| 6 | Špela Ponomarenko | 1:52.363 | |||
| 7 | Lucy Wainwright | 1:53.102 | |||
| 8 | Jennifer Hodson | 1:53.353 | |||
| 9 | Yuliana Salkhova | 1:53.973 |