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Olympic Canoe/Kayak Recaps: 4 August (Day 16)

Men's Kayak Single (K1) 500m

ROSSI tallies second medal of the 1996 Games

After a gold medal in the men's kayak double 1000m event during Saturday's finals, Italy's Antonio ROSSI decided one just wasn't enough, earning the gold medal in the men's kayak single 500m race during the final day of sprint canoe/kayak competition. With a time of 1:37.423, the 27-year-old ROSSI defeated Norway's KNUT HOLMANN by nearly one second and left the reigning world champion, Piotr MARKIEWICZ of Poland to settle for the bronze medal. ROSSI had a disappointing eighth-place finish at the world championships, and has proven what a difference a year can make in the sprint competition. HOLMANN is the 1996 gold medalist in the K1 1000m event.

"I am so excited I can't believe it," said Italy's Antonio ROSSI. "I have two gold medals, my dream come true. Last night I couldn't sleep because I was so excited. But I knew I could win."

"It was a very tough race," said Norwegian Knut HOLMANN."ROSSI was very strong. He went so fast I couldn't follow him."


Men's Canoe Single (C1) 500m

DOKTOR notches second gold in canoe sprint events

Martin DOKTOR of the Czech Republic double-fisted it at the 1996 Olympic Games as he seized his second gold medal of the sprint competition in the canoe single 500m event, just one day after becoming the Olympic Champion in the men's C1 1000m. DOKTOR posted a time of 1:49.934 followed by Slovakia's Slavomir KNAZOVICKY, only .576 back. The bronze medal went to Hungary's Imre PULAI who finished at 1:50.758. DOKTOR was second at the world championships and won at Mechelen, Belgium and Duisburg, Germany earlier this year. Defending Olympic gold medalist and world champion Nikolay BUKHALOV of Bulgaria was disqualified from the race.

"I am happy the winds changed so there was a tailwind," said Martin DOKTOR of the Czech Republic. "I knew I was the fastest at the finish so I kept my distance and then pushed it in the last 150 meters."


Women's Kayak Single (K1) 500m

Koban maintains dominance

Hungary's Rita KOBAN has proven why she is one of the top women in the sprint kayak events, as she became the 1996 Olympic champion in the kayak single 500m event. The reigning world champion had taken the silver home from Barcelona and was ready to better her finish in Atlanta. Canada's Caroline BRUNET kept the race close with KOBAN, crossing the finish line only .236 behind the champion. Brunet is no stranger to the power of KOBAN as the Canadian finished second to the Hungarian at the world championships. In third was Italy's Josefa IDEM who was able to break into the medal standings after her fourth-place finish in 1992. The defending Olympic Champion Birgit FISCHER of Germany just missed medal honors as she took fourth.

"The finish was very hard," said Canadian Caroline BRUNET. "I found some oomph for the finish in my heart. I thought I had everything to win today, but she (KOBAN) was better than me."


Men's Kayak Double (K2) 500m

Germany achieves fourth gold of 1996 Games

The German boat of Kay BLUHM and Torsten GUTSCHE grasped their country's fourth gold medal in the sprint canoe/kayak competition, winning the men's kayak double 500m event. It was a highly-contested sprint from start to finish as the Germans clocked a time of 1:28.697 to oust the Italian crew of Beniamino BONOMI and Daniele SCARPA for the gold medal by a mere .032. The Australians, Andrew TRIM and Danny COLLINS, slid their way into the top three to finish with the bronze medal. For BLUHM and GUTSCHE, it was their second consecutive Olympic gold medal performance in the event and the duo captured the silver medal in the K2 1000m race during Saturday's finals. BONOMI and SCARPA have medals of their own as BONOMI grabbed the silver in the K1 1000m event on Saturday and SCARPA (with Antonio ROSSI) is the new Olympic champion in the K2 1000m.

"It's incredible," said Germany's Kay BLUHM. "I can't really believe that we won it again. When we passed the finish line, I wasn't sure if we had really won."


Men's Canoe Double (C2) 500 meters

Hungarian men take homeland's third medal of the day

The current world championship Hungarian team of Gyorgy KOLONICS and Csaba HORVATH earned the high honor in the men's canoe double 500m event, winning Hungary's third medal of the day and the pair's second for the competition as they took the 1996 gold medal in the C2 1000m. As the Hungarian boat took the early lead in the race, the team from Moldova, Nikolai JURAVSCHI and Victor RENEISCHI, maintained the pace and finished .036 behind the Olympic champions for the silver medal. Gheorge ANDRIEV and Grigore OBREJA of Romania took the bronze. The Moldova boat finished second to the Hungarians at the world championships while the Romanians bettered their fourth-place showing in Barcelona in the C2 500m event.

"It was a great race," said Hungary's Gyorgy KOLONICS. "Our goal was to have rhythm and be in harmony."


Women's Kayak Double (K2) 500 meters

Surprising champions emerge in final event

Agenta ANDERSSON and Susanne GUNNARSSON of Sweden shocked the field of competitors in the kayak double 500m race as they sprinted to a time of 1:39.329 to win the gold medal. Among the victims were the pre-Olympic favored German team of Birgit FISCHER and Ramona PORTWICH, who take home the silver medal, .360 back of the Swedes. PORTWICH was a defending Olympic gold medalist in the event as she was victorious in 1992 with partner Anke VON SECK. In third, was the Australian boat of Anna WOOD and Katrin BORCHERT. The Swedish boat added their gold medal to the silver they earned in Barcelona. It was ANDERSSON's second medal performance of the 1996 Games as she was a member of the women's K4 500m team which captured the bronze during Saturday's finals. FISCHER has eight Olympic medals, five gold, to her name, including her top ranking in the women's K4 500 on Saturday.

"This is a holy day! We did not expect this medal but we hoped for it," said Sweden's Susanne GUNNARSSON. "We have trained very hard for this, after my 5th in the K1, I decided to go for the Gold."


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Olympic Factoid
Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium.