Mike Dawson competes in the semifinal at Whitewater Stadium. Photo: Getty Images
The top 10 went through in the kayak section, meaning the 29-year-old improved on his 15th place at the 2012 London Games.
Dawson posted a time of 91.47s and collected no penalty points in his semi-final but could not match that in the final, completing the course in 93.07s.
Britain's Joseph Clarke won the race in a time of 88.53s, Peter Kauzer of Slovenia picked up silver (88.70s) while Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic finished in a time of 88.99s for the bronze.
Rio woke to rain, wind and mist, affecting a host of New Zealanders involved in overnight action.
A capricious wind saw a second day of the regatta postponed because of unrowable conditions, resulting in a shuffling of the schedule.
- NZ Herald, Reuters
