Australian canoeist Robin Bell posted the third fastest time in the Olympic men's C1 slalom final to win the bronze medal in Beijing on Tuesday evening. Slovakia's Michal Martikan took gold with a combined time of 176.65 seconds, while Britain's David Florence finished second to take the silver medal in 178.61.
Bell (180.59), last year's world championship bronze medallist, atoned for a fourth-placed finish in Athens, picking up Australia's first ever C1 medal in the process.
There were still four paddlers to go when Bell completed his run, and the Australian says it was a nervous wait.
"The other guys came a bit unstuck at the top. I did a good run," he said.
"I was really happy with it and I had to sit back, my fate was in the hands of others."
Martikan, who won the event in 1996 but took silver behind Estanguet in both 2000 and 2004, won by a wide margin, despite receiving several time penalties for hitting gates in both of his final runs.
Meanwhile in the final of the men's kayak slalom event, Australia's Warwick Draper finished a disappointing fourth with a total time of 177.85 after having qualified second fastest for the final.
Alexander Grimm of Germany was fastest through the course, claiming gold with a total time of 171.70.
Togo's Benjamin Boukpeti won the bronze and celebrated winning his country's maiden Olympic medal in emphatic fashion, snapping his paddle in half while still on the course.
- ABC/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment