# Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's K-4 500 metres

The women's K-4 500 metres competition in canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing between August 18 and 22. The K-4 event is raced in four-person kayaks.
Competition consists of three rounds: the heats, the semifinals, and the final. All boats compete in the heats. The top three finishers in each of the two heats advance directly to the final, while the remaining four finishers from both heats move on to the semifinal. The top three finishers in the semifinal join the heats winners in the final.
Heats took place on August 18, semifinals on August 20, and the final on August 22.

## Schedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Monday, August 18, 2008 | 16:30-16:50 | Heats |
| Wednesday, August 20, 2008 | 16:10-16:20 | Semifinal |
| Friday, August 22, 2008 | 16:20-16:35 | Final |

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Germany (GER) Fanny Fischer Nicole Reinhardt Katrin Wagner-Augustin Conny Waßmuth | Hungary (HUN) Katalin Kovács Gabriella Szabó Danuta Kozák Natasa Janics | Australia (AUS) Lisa Oldenhof Hannah Davis Chantal Meek Lyndsie Fogarty |

## Results
### Heats

Qualification Rules: 1..3->Final, 4..7->Semifinal + 8th best time, Rest Out

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Fanny Fischer, Nicole Reinhardt, Katrin Wagner-Augustin, Conny Waßmuth | Germany | 1:33.912 | QF |
| 2 | Xu Yaping, Zhong Hongyan, Yu Lamei, Liang Peixing | China | 1:36.971 | QF |
| 3 | Michele Eray, Carol Joyce, Nicola Mocke, Jennifer Hodson | South Africa | 1:37.399 | QF |
| 4 | Stefania Cicali, Alessandra Galiotto, Fabiana Sgroi, Alice Fagioli | Italy | 1:37.436 | QS |
| 5 | Shinobu Kitamoto, Ayaka Kuno, Mikiko Takeya, Yumiko Suzuki | Japan | 1:38.618 | QS |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Katalin Kovács, Gabriella Szabó, Danuta Kozák, Nataša Janić | Hungary | 1:34.321 | QF |
| 2 | Beata Mikołajczyk, Aneta Konieczna, Edyta Dzieniszewska, Dorota Kuczkowska | Poland | 1:36.497 | QF |
| 3 | Lisa Oldenhof, Hannah Davis, Chantal Meek, Lyndsie Fogarty | Australia | 1:36.516 | QF |
| 4 | Beatriz Manchón, Jana Smidakova, Sonia Molanes, Maria Teresa Portela | Spain | 1:37.914 | QS |
| 5 | Émilie Fournel, Karen Furneaux, Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny, Kristin Gauthier | Canada | 1:39.366 | QS |

### Semifinal

Qualification Rules: 1..3->Final, Rest Out
| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Beatriz Manchón, Jana Smidakova, Sonia Molanes, Maria Teresa Portela | Spain | 1:37.172 | QF |
| 2 | Shinobu Kitamoto, Ayaka Kuno, Mikiko Takeya, Yumiko Suzuki | Japan | 1:37.449 | QF |
| 3 | Stefania Cicali, Alessandra Galiotto, Fabiana Sgroi, Alice Fagioli | Italy | 1:37.887 | QF |
| 4 | Émilie Fournel, Karen Furneaux, Geneviève Beauchesne-Sévigny, Kristin Gauthier | Canada | 1:38.224 | |

### Final

| Rank | Athletes | Country | Time |
| | Fanny Fischer, Nicole Reinhardt, Katrin Wagner-Augustin, Conny Waßmuth | Germany | 1:32.231 |
| | Katalin Kovács, Gabriella Szabó, Danuta Kozák, Nataša Janić | Hungary | 1:32.971 |
| | Lisa Oldenhof, Hannah Davis, Chantal Meek, Lyndsie Fogarty | Australia | 1:34.704 |
| 4 | Beata Mikołajczyk, Aneta Konieczna, Edyta Dzieniszewska, Dorota Kuczkowska | Poland | 1:34.752 |
| 5 | Beatriz Manchón, Jana Smidakova, Sonia Molanes, Maria Teresa Portela | Spain | 1:35.366 |
| 6 | Shinobu Kitamoto, Ayaka Kuno, Mikiko Takeya, Yumiko Suzuki | Japan | 1:36.465 |
| 7 | Michele Eray, Carol Joyce, Nicola Mocke, Jennifer Hodson | South Africa | 1:36.724 |
| 8 | Stefania Cicali, Alessandra Galiotto, Fabiana Sgroi, Alice Fagioli | Italy | 1:36.770 |
| 9 | Xu Yaping, Zhong Hongyan, Yu Lamei, Liang Peixing | China | 1:37.418 |
For the fourth straight Summer Olympics, a Fischer won a gold medal in the K-4 500 m only this time it was not Birgit, but her niece Fanny. Wagner-Augustin won her third straight Olympic gold medal in the K-4 500 m event while Kovács of Hungary won her third straight Olympic silver medal in this event.