The day began at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium with the first final, the women's C2-500 meters, held as scheduled and aided by a calm wind that kept the waters still. The duo of China’s Xu Shixiao and Sun Mengya secured the top spot on the podium with a time of 1:52.81, successfully defending the gold they won three years ago in Tokyo.

The time registered as they crossed the finish line allowed the winning pair to break the Olympic record and beat Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok by 1.49 seconds. The bronze medal went to Canadians Sloan Mackenzie and Katie Vincent, who finished in 1:54.36.

The race started off particularly fast, with Shixiao and Mengya taking the lead without much opposition from their rivals. The only ones who could keep up with them at certain stages were the Canadians, who applied some pressure until they ran out of steam in the final moments. Luzan and Rybachok took advantage of this fatigue to finish in second place, although a photo finish was required to decide the silver, as the difference was just 0.06 seconds.

"We just tried our best to get this medal, we were really determined to win this Games. From the first Games (in Tokyo) to now, and from the start line to the finish line, we just tried to be our best selves," Mengya said. With this victory, the Chinese team has solidified its status as one of the great powers in this sport, giving their country its 30th gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games.

Women's K2-500m

The second canoe sprint final began at the same venue around 13:00 CEST. This time, the New Zealand duo of legendary Lisa Carrington and Alicia Hoskin claimed the title in the women's K2-500 meters.

Carrington and Hoskin led the race from start to finish, crossing the line with a time of 1:37.28 to take the gold and defend their Tokyo 2020 title. This victory marks Carrington's seventh Olympic gold medal, bringing her within one of the legendary Birgit Fischer's record of eight Olympic titles.

The silver went to the Hungarian pair of Tamara Csipes and Alida Dora Gazo, who clocked a time of 1:39.39. For the bronze medal, two teams (the second Hungarian team of Noemi Pupp and Sara Fojt and the German duo Jule Marie Hake and Paulina Paszek) crossed the line at the same time, resulting in the medal being awarded to both.

The race was not without its challenges, as strong winds blew consistently throughout, making the start extremely difficult, with the boats struggling against the force of the wind. The New Zealanders, accustomed to training under similar conditions, managed to hold on until the final sprint.

After the victory, Carrington said that going back-to-back to defend her Tokyo title was not something she thought about until recently. "It's amazing, I can't believe we managed to win today, to do it again here, we didn't expect to do it, but we obviously trained as hard as we could so we were in a position to be able to win today," she added.

Men's K2-500m

The men's events kicked off with the K2-500 meters final. It was a fiercely contested race, with Germany's Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke taking gold with a time of 1:26.87, just ahead of Hungary's Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka, while Australians Jean van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green secured the bronze after a photo finish.

The Bavarian duo were clear favorites after participating in the kayak quartet that took first place in the 500 meters the previous day. The race started with all pairs closely matched, although the German athletes managed to maintain a slight lead over their opponents, without pulling too far ahead of the group they were battling with until the end.

After 300 meters, the gap gradually widened, forcing Hungary and Australia into their own duel for silver. The race between the two countries was so close that technology was needed to determine the second-place finisher, with the Hungarian team prevailing by just 0.14 seconds.

The champions spoke to the press after stepping off the podium. "It's absolutely beautiful to share this moment with so many joyful people here," said Lemke. "We approached it professionally, even went paddling again after two hours of press, and worked everything out. Then we discussed our tactics," said Schopf, who "put everything into the first 350 meters."

Men's C1-1000m

The final race of the day, deciding the men's individual canoe competition over 1000 meters, was won by Czech Martin Fuksa, with Brazil's Isaquias Queiroz taking silver and Moldova's Serghei Tarnovschi winning bronze.

Fuksa, who arrived at the venue as the current world champion and after placing fifth in both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, crossed the finish line with an Olympic record of 3:43.16. The feat was the result of a performance filled with strength and speed, two factors that did not wane throughout the race.

The Czech paddler made the best start after 250m, with Russian Zakhar Petrov in contention and pushing him close. A man on a mission, Fuksa then led by more than a second at the halfway stage, turning it into a battle for the remaining medal places. Petrov was eventually caught, but Brendel was not a contender as Queiroz secured silver and Tarnovschi won Moldova’s third bronze of these Games.

Fuksa was eager to win a medal. "So many years of waiting... And it's finally here," the 31-year-old athlete rejoiced upon reaching the finish line. "I just wanted to win the race, and I did." The Czech athlete adds to his country's medal tally at these Games, where they now have a pair of golds following the success of Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova in the tennis doubles.