Jiří Prskavec celebrates after winning the men's K1 title in Tokyo ©Getty Images

Jiří Prskavec of the Czech Republic delivered a masterful display to clinch the Olympic men's K1 crown by more than three seconds at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics here.

Coming into the Olympics as the world number one, Prskavec was the strong favourite to win gold.

He was the last kayaker to complete his run, having produced the fastest time in the semi-finals, and the Czech athlete did not let the pressure affect him as he made a flying start, immediately making ground on Jakub Grigar’s leading time.

Prskavec looked calm and composed, weaving his way through the gates before driving home in a stunning time of 91.63secs to clinch the Olympic gold.

The victory will help to erase the memories of the men's kayak final at Rio 2016 where he was forced to settle for bronze.

Grigar saw Prskavec snatch gold from his grasp as the Slovakian posted a time of 94.85 to take silver, with Hannes Aigner of Germany clinching the bronze in 97.11.

"It's unbelievable," said Prskavec, 

"It's been my dream since I started kayaking to be at the Olympics. 

"To go from the last spot and to win a medal, especially the gold medal feels amazing."

Jiří Prskavec collects Czech Republic's second gold of Tokyo 2020 as Jakub Grigar, left, takes silver and Hannes Aigner, right, earns bronze ©Getty Images
Jiří Prskavec collects Czech Republic's second gold of Tokyo 2020 as Jakub Grigar, left, takes silver and Hannes Aigner, right, earns bronze ©Getty Images

Prskavec added: "It was crazy. 

"The most often asked question was if I'm gonna come home with a gold medal, and I was telling them it's a lot of kayaking, it's not easy. 

"You never know, the water can be against you. I said that I wanted to have a special run in the final. 

"I've done just that and the gold medal is a bonus."

There were rumbles of thunder at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre in Tokyo, but it turned out to be a stiflingly hot afternoon.

Boris Neveu of France and Michal Smolen of the United States qualified for the final with the second and third quickest times in the semi-finals behind Prskavec, but they were unable to handle the pressure-cooker environment.

The pair missed out on medals, with Neveu finishing down in seventh position in 101.18 and Smolen coming fifth in 99.12.

Oschmautz scraped through to the final but delivered a bronze medal after overcoming an early mistake to post a strong time.

Aigner had the seventh-fastest time in the semi-final but produced his best in the final as he avoided any penalties to overtake Oschmautz into top spot.

The German faced an anxious wait as six athletes were due to go after him but he slipped to third when Grigar moved in front.