The 32-year-old veteran was second only to Joseph Clarke of the United Kingdom, while finishing ahead of Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic, who was held back by two penalties.

This was a third Olympic appearance for Kauzer and his first medal, coming after he finished 13th in Beijing in 2008 and 6th in London in 2012.

This is Slovenia's second medal in Rio and the second Olympic medal for the nation in kayaking, coming 20 years after Andraž Vehovar won silver in Atlanta.

An Olympic medal was what Kauzer needed to complete his collection, as he already has three medals at world championships (including two golds in 2009 and 2011) and three at European championships (one gold in 2010).