The 19 competitors first raced in three heats. The first-place finishers from each of the heats advanced directly to the final, and the remaining 16 canoers moved on to the two semifinal races. The heats were raced on August 23.
The top three finishers in each of the two semifinals advanced to the finals, joining the three canoers who had moved directly from the heats. All other canoers were eliminated. The semifinals were raced on August 25.
Dittmer got off to a quick lead, but Cal took the lead in an early surge to open a one-second gap at the 500 meter mark. The German tried to close the gap to the Spaniard, but Cal held on to win the gold. Also, the top four finishers of this event would win gold in this event between 1996 and 2008 (Cal - this event, Dittmer - 2000, Doktor - 1996, and Vajda - 2008).
Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Singles 1000 Meters". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 481.