# Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's slalom C-1

The men's C-1 slalom canoeing event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 25 and 26 July 2021 at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course. 18 canoeists from 18 nations competed.

## Background

This was the 9th appearance of the event, having previously appeared in every Summer Olympics with slalom canoeing: 1972 and 1992–2016.
Neither reigning Olympic champion Denis Gargaud Chanut nor reigning World Champion Cédric Joly competed; both were passed over in selection for the French team in favor of Martin Thomas.

## Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) entered only 1 qualified canoeist in the men's slalom C-1 event. A total of 17 qualification places were available, allocated as follows:
* 1 place for the host nation, Japan
* 11 places awarded through the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
* 5 places awarded through continental tournaments, 1 per continent
Pavel Eigel also competed, having already earned a quota in the Men's K1 event.
Qualifying places were awarded to the NOC, not to the individual canoeist who earned the place.
The World Championships quota places were allocated as follows:
| Rank | Canoeist | Nation | Qualification | Selected competitor |
| 1 | Cédric Joly | France | 1st placed NOC | Martin Thomas |
| 2 | Ander Elosegi | Spain | 2nd placed NOC | Ander Elosegi |
| 3 | Luka Božič | Slovenia | 3rd placed NOC | Benjamin Savšek |
| 4 | Alexander Slafkovský | Slovakia | 4th placed NOC | Matej Beňuš |
| 6 | David Florence | Great Britain | 5th placed NOC | Adam Burgess |
| 7 | Thomas Koechlin | Switzerland | 6th placed NOC | Thomas Koechlin |
| 9 | Cameron Smedley | Canada | 7th placed NOC | Cameron Smedley |
| 10 | Grzegorz Hedwig | Poland | 8th placed NOC | Grzegorz Hedwig |
| 11 | Robert Hendrick | Ireland | 9th placed NOC | Liam Jegou |
| 12 | Matija Marinić | Croatia | 10th placed NOC | Matija Marinić |
| 13 | Vojtěch Heger | Czech Republic | 11th placed NOC | Lukáš Rohan |
| 34 | Pavel Eigel | ROC | Earned quota in K1 | Pavel Eigel |
Continental and other places:
| Nation | Canoeist | Qualification | Selected competitor |
| Japan | - | Host nation | Takuya Haneda |
| Australia | Daniel Watkins | Oceania quota | Daniel Watkins |
| Germany | Sideris Tasiadis | Europe quota | Sideris Tasiadis |
| Kazakhstan | Alexandr Kulikov | Asia quota | Alexandr Kulikov |
| Senegal | Jean-Pierre Bourhis | Africa quota | Jean-Pierre Bourhis |
| United States | Casey Eichfeld | Americas quota | Zachary Lokken |
Notes $^a$ The quota for the Americas was allocated to the NOC with the highest-ranked eligible athlete, due to the cancellation of the 2021 Pan American Championships.

## Competition format

Slalom canoeing uses a three-round format, with heats, semifinal, and final. In the heats, each canoeist has two runs at the course with the better time counting. The top 15 advance to the semifinal. In the semifinal, the canoeists get a single run; the top 10 advance to the final. The best time in the single-run final wins gold.
The canoe course is approximately 250 metres long, with up to 25 gates that the canoeist must pass in the correct direction. Penalty time is added for infractions such as passing on the wrong side or touching a gate. Runs typically last approximately 95 seconds.

## Schedule

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
The men's slalom C-1 took place over two consecutive days.
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 25 July 2021 | 13:00 | Heats |
| Monday, 26 July 2021 | 14:00 | Semifinal Final |

## Results

| Rank | Bib | Canoeist | Nation | Preliminary Heats | Preliminary Heats | Preliminary Heats | Preliminary Heats | Preliminary Heats | Preliminary Heats | Semifinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final | Final |
| Rank | Bib | Canoeist | Nation | 1st Ride | Pen. | 2nd Ride | Pen. | Best | Order | Time | Pen. | Order | Time | Pen. | Order |
| | 3 | Benjamin Savšek | Slovenia | 98.82 | 2 | 105.87 | 4 | 98.82 | 2 | 104.26 | 2 | 5 | 98.25 | 0 | 1 |
| | 8 | Lukáš Rohan | Czech Republic | 103.98 | 2 | 102.15 | 2 | 102.15 | 8 | 103.68 | 2 | 4 | 101.96 | 2 | 2 |
| | 1 | Sideris Tasiadis | Germany | 100.69 | 0 | 101.23 | 0 | 100.69 | 6 | 105.35 | 2 | 6 | 103.70 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | Adam Burgess | Great Britain | 99.82 | 0 | 99.64 | 2 | 99.64 | 3 | 106.18 | 2 | 8 | 103.86 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Martin Thomas | France | 102.75 | 2 | 102.83 | 4 | 102.75 | 9 | 100.65 | 0 | 1 | 104.98 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | 2 | Matej Beňuš | Slovakia | 99.61 | 0 | 96.89 | 0 | 96.89 | 1 | 106.40 | 2 | 9 | 105.60 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | 14 | Zachary Lokken | United States | 99.74 | 0 | 166.94 | 6 | 99.74 | 4 | 105.97 | 2 | 7 | 106.08 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 | 7 | Ander Elosegi | Spain | 103.78 | 4 | 101.51 | 0 | 101.51 | 7 | 103.15 | 2 | 3 | 106.59 | 2 | 8 |
| 9 | 12 | Daniel Watkins | Australia | 158.43 | 54 | 103.07 | 2 | 103.07 | 10 | 101.28 | 0 | 2 | 108.18 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | 13 | Takuya Haneda | Japan | 106.57 | 0 | 105.15 | 2 | 105.15 | 13 | 107.82 | 0 | 10 | 109.30 | 4 | 10 |
| 11 | 10 | Matija Marinić | Croatia | 100.33 | 0 | 101.66 | 2 | 100.33 | 5 | 109.94 | 2 | 11 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 12 | 17 | Alexandr Kulikov | Kazakhstan | 109.95 | 2 | 107.43 | 2 | 107.43 | 15 | 110.23 | 2 | 12 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 13 | 9 | Thomas Koechlin | Switzerland | 105.66 | 4 | 104.57 | 0 | 104.57 | 12 | 111.20 | 6 | 13 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 14 | 6 | Grzegorz Hedwig | Poland | 109.09 | 6 | 105.95 | 4 | 105.95 | 14 | 112.16 | 4 | 14 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 15 | 11 | Liam Jegou | Ireland | 174.57 | 50 | 104.40 | 2 | 104.40 | 11 | 208.39 | 100 | 15 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 16 | 15 | Cameron Smedley | Canada | 161.07 | 54 | 108.12 | 4 | 108.12 | 16 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 17 | 16 | Jean-Pierre Bourhis | Senegal | 111.16 | 2 | 110.93 | 0 | 110.93 | 17 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| 18 | 18 | Pavel Eigel | ROC | 119.60 | 4 | DNS | DNS | 119.60 | 18 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |