Men's Kayak Single (K1) 500m
Pre-Olympic favorites advance to finals
The top competitors in the final of the men's kayak single 500m event will be a who's who in sprint kayak competition with a list that includes defending Olympic gold medalist Mikko KOLEHMAINEN of Finland and reigning world champion Piotr MARKIEWICZ of Poland. The two advanced to the finals on Sunday after their top-five finish during semifinal action on Friday. However, they will not be the only main attractions as Italian Antonio ROSSI has become the one to beat in the event. ROSSI took first in the semifinal with a time of 1:39.185, leaving third-place finisher KOLEHMAINEN in his wake and downing world championships runner-up Knut HOLMANN (NOR). In the second heat, Lutz LIWOWSKI of Germany took the top spot in the semifinal to join the ranks of the medal contenders in the finals. Romania's Geza MAGYAR sat .296 back of LIWOWSKI to take second. Other boats to qualify for Sunday's final races were Slovakia, Spain and Australia.
"It was my dream to make the finals in the Olympics in my two events," said Germany's Lutz LIWOWSKI, who will race in the finals of the men's kayak single 1000m on Saturday and the 500m on Sunday. "When I was 16, I saw the Los Angeles Olympics on t.v. and knew I wanted to do this."
1992 gold medalist BUKHALOV set to defend title
Reigning world champion and 1992 gold medalist Nikolay BUKHALOV of Bulgaria escaped final elimination in the men's canoe single 500m event, finishing second in his semifinal to advance to the final. Canada's Steve GILES, runner up at the Szeged earlier this year, clocked a time of 1:51.614 to edge the Bulgarian by .300. In the first heat, Ukraine's Mykhaylo SLIVINSKIYY took first (1:52.093) while Kazakstan's Konstantin NEGODYAYEV (1:52.421) placed second. In each of the two semifinal races in this event, the top two finishers qualify while the best time between the two third-place finishers decides the final qualifier. The final qualifying position went to Denmark's Christian FREDERIKSEN who paced a time of 1:52.174, to oust France's Eric Le LEUCH (1:53.305) by nearly a second. The five boats will join the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Hungary who all went to the finals directly from the preliminary race.
"I was hoping to come in the top two, but I am happy that I qualified," said Christian FREDERIKSEN."I am happy it was more than a second difference between Eric (Le LEUCH) and I because I have trained with him and I would have felt bad if it was less."
No surprises as KOBAN leads the pack
Hungary's Rita KOBAN soundly won her semifinal race of the women's kayak single 500m as the three-time Olympian outdistanced Sweden's Susanne GUNNARSSON by more than one second. Rita was the silver medalist in Barcelona and is the current World Champion in the event. GUNNARSSON is a four-time Olympic competitor and took third at the world championships. In the second semifinal race, Italy's Josefa IDEM captured the top spot by only .496 over Canadian Caroline BRUNET. IDEM won the 15th International Regatta one month ago in Duisburg and is looking to break into medal contention in the Olympic Games after taking fourth in the event in 1992. Germany's Birgit FOSTER, who has won 21 world championship titles, landed in third to sneak her way into the finals on Sunday. Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and Poland round out the nine boats to qualify for the finals through the semifinal races.
Italy's Josefa IDEM on the race. "I have my husband and son here watching me and that makes me feel good. In the final I will go as fast as possible and win."
Italians set stage for final showdown
The final race on Sunday in the men's kayak double 500m could prove to be one of the most exciting if the semifinals are any indication. The Italian duo of Beniamino BONOMI and Daniele SCARPA posted the fastest time in the semifinal races (1:29.661), however, Australia and Bulgaria, who placed second and third respectively, maintained the pace as all three boats finished within one second of each other. The teams in the second heat followed suit as the German boat of Kay BLUHM and Torsten GUTSCHE prevailed, while the top-five boats all finished within one second of each other. The Russians took second to the Germans while Poland's team salvaged third. The Italians are a favorite in the event as they are the reigning world champions and most recently won the Duisburg competition one month ago. The Germans are looking for their second consecutive Olympic gold in the 500m as well as the 1000m events and pose the biggest threat to BONOMI and SCARPA. Other boats to advance to the medal races are Hungary, Romania and Denmark, all who had top-five finishes in the semifinal.
"We are in a good position to come out strong," said Italy's Beniamino BONOMI. "The heats and semifinals were not just an easy passage to the finals. The competition was tough and in the finals we have to be prepared to race hard to achieve our goals."
Hungary headlines qualifiers for finals
The 1995 World title holders, Gyorgy KOLONICS and Csaba HORVATH of Hungary are primed and ready to wear the gold medal on Sunday after they commanded a win in the semifinal race of the men's canoe double 500m defeating the German team by 1.464. It was the day for world champions, as Gheorghe ANDRIEV and Grigore OBREJA of Romania, the 1994 world champions, ranked first in their heat of the semifinal with a time of 1.41.653 to also advance to the finals of the C2 500 meters. In second, was the team from Moldova, Nikolai JURAVSCHI and Victor RENEISCHI, silver medalist in Duisburg in 1995, and gold medalists in Seoul. Hungary, Germany, Romania, Moldova, Spain, Russia, Slovakia, Belarus, and Bulgaria are teams in the lineup for the men's canoe double 500m finals on Sunday.
"I hope we can do better in the final," said Germany's Andreas DITTMER on their second-place finish. "We will go as hard as we can."
Hungary and Germany preview intense final in K2 500m
The crowd that gathered for the semifinals of sprint canoe/kayak had a sneak peak into Sunday's final of the women's kayak double 500m during Friday's semifinal as pre-Olympic favorites, Hungary and Germany battled from start to finish with the Hungarians inching across the finish line .28 ahead of the Germans. Hungarians Rita KOBAN and Szilvia MEDNYANSZKI had the extra edge and beat out Birgit FISCHER and Ramona PORTWICH for the top spot in the semifinal. Both are top medal contenders in the final. KOBAN and FISCHER have become the "women of kayak" as both are veteran Olympic competitors. FISCHER is looking for her fifth Olympic gold medal at these games. The German's teammate PORTWICH holds the gold medal honors from Barcelona where she partnered with Anke Von SECK for the victory. The Sweden pair of Agneta ANDERSSON, and Susanne GUNNARSSON won their semifinal race to advance to the finals and will be looking to capture the gold that escaped them in 1992 as they earned the silver in Barcelona. Spain, Canada, France, Australia, Poland and Russia join Hungary, Germany and Sweden in the finals.
"The race went well today but we did not bring out everything we had," said Germany's Ramona PORTWICH. "We will top it off in the finals."
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |