For the K-1 slalom events, 21 boats qualified for the heats. The 15 best times from the two runs in the heats qualified for the semifinals, and then the best 10 boats from the semifinals qualified for the finals. Austrian canoeists have qualified a maximum of one boat in each of the following classes through the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. London 2012 sixth-place finalist Corinna Kuhnle (women's K-1) and rookie Mario Leitner (men's K-1) were named to the Austrian roster on 20 June 2016. Mario Leitner finished his first run in the men's kayaking event in 93.29 seconds and his second run with a worse time of 93.89 seconds. He finished in the fifteenth allotted position, thus qualifying for the semifinals. However, he finished fifteenth with a time of 100.25 seconds, missing out the finals by a 4.57-second deficit. Meanwhile, Corinna Kuhnle finished her first run with a time of 109.63 seconds and her second in 107.02 seconds, placing twelfth overall and making her way to the semifinals. In the semifinals, she finished with her best time of the event with 101.54 seconds, which ranked her first in the semifinals. She could not match that time and came fifth in 104.75 seconds, missing the podium by 2.26 seconds.