Men's Kayak Single (K1) 1000m
Top medal contenders set for final
Italy's Beniamino BONOMI has issued a sound warning to his fellow competitors in the men's kayak single 1000m event: he will be the one to beat in the Saturday's final. BONOMI posted a time of 3:30.831 to capture the top spot in the semifinals. Norway's Knut HOLMANN, current world champion in the 1000m event, took second while Germany's Lutz LIWOWSKI placed third. Clint ROBINSON of Australia, defending Olympic gold medalist, is on his way to the final to try to earn his second consecutive gold after his top finish in the second heat of the semifinals. With a time of 3:43.657, Robinson edged Romanian Marin POPESCU by only .592 for the first-place position. Other boats to qualify for Saturday's final were Poland, Brazil, Spain and Finland.
"The rain felt good today. I liked the conditions. My race was good," said Germany's Lutz LIWOWSKI. "In the final I am just going to go as fast as possible."
1992 Gold Medalist BUKHALOV barely earns spot in final
In what could have been a major upset in the men's canoe single 1000m event, Bulgaria's Nikolay BUKHALOV, 1992 Olympic gold medalist, earned a spot in the final by a mere .1 margin. While the top-two finishers in each of the two heats of the semifinals advance to the medal races, the fifth spot is decided by the best time posted by the two third-place finishers. BUKHALOV raced a time of 4:14.415 to oust Denmark's Arne NIELSSON, who finished in 4:14.573, for the final spot in the final. BUKHALOV will not have an easy task at hand to maintain his Olympic reign as he will need to fend off a list competitors which include Barcelona runner-up Ivan KLEMENTYEV of Latvia. The 1992 silver medalist is no stranger to the Olympic podium as he won the gold in the 1000 meter event in 1988. Martin DOKTOR of the Czech Republic will also pose a threat. DOKTOR earned a berth in the final as a result of his top finish in the preliminaries. Croatia, Romania, and France all used their top-two finishes in the semifinals to qualify for the final on Saturday.
"The race was very difficult today. BUKHALOV was first in 1992. He is tough," said Latvia's Ivan KLEMENTYEV. "I would have liked to gone directly to the finals. But I won (the semifinal) so that is good."
Canadians set for finals on familiar waters; Hungry tries to maintain dominance
The Canadian foursome of Marie-Josee GIBEAU, Alison HERST, Corrina KENNEDY, and Klari MacASKILL, clocked a time of 1:38.712 to prevail in the first heat of the women' kayak four 500m semifinal. The Canadian women are ready for a second victory on Lake Lanier as they were top finishers at the Lake Lanier Sprint Challenge last year. Russia finished second in the heat to advance to the medal races. The Hungarian team of Szilvia MEDNYANSZKI, Eva DONUSZ, Erika MESZAROS, and Kinga CZIGANY finished at 1:37.145 to win their heat and earn a chance to defend their 1992 Olympic gold medal in Saturday's final. With three of the four original members of the Barcelona team back in action (MEDNYANSZKI replaced Rita KOBAN), the team should be a top medal contender. Spain and Australia round out the five qualifiers from the semifinals while the teams from China, Switzerland, Germany and Sweden advanced to the medal races through their top finishes in the preliminary races.
Canada's Klair MacASKILL on the team's race plan for the final. "Go fast. It will be a close race. The winner will be the team that follows its race plan best."
Defending World Champions looking for gold mine
The Italian duo of Antonio ROSSI and Daniele SCARPA are in the hunt for the gold medal and, after winning their semifinal race of the men's kayak double 1000m, hope to strike it rich during Saturday's final. ROSSI and SCARPA, defending world champions, were first at the 15th International Regatta in Duisburg held one month before the Olympic competition - a showcase of what was to come in Atlanta. Finishing second at the Regatta was the Danish team of Thor NIELSEN and Jesper STAAL, who took second to Italy in the semifinal, only .6 back, giving the pair a spot in the final. In the second heat of the semifinals, Poland finished first while France and Germany placed second and third respectively. The German twosome of Kay BLUHM and Torsten GUTSCHE had the gold medal performance in Barcelona and will head to the finals with one mission: bring home the gold medal, again. The teams from Bulgaria, Hungary, Australia, and Sweden will join these boats in the finals after their top-five finishes in the semifinal races.
"We paddled pretty average. We just tried to get a good running speed," said Denmark's Jesper STAAL. "The Italians are the ones to beat. Saturday's final will be very hard. The race will be similar to this one, except we will win."
Five boats qualify for finals
With a time of 3:45.077, the Canadian boat of Steve GILES and Dan HOWE, edged the Bulgarians, Martin MARINOV and Blagovest STOYANOV, by only .052 for first-place honors in the semifinal of the men's canoe double 1000m. The two teams will advance to the medal race as will the boats from Moldova, Slovakia and Spain as each earned a top-three finish in the semifinal races. Canada won the Lake Lanier Sprint Challenge last year, and will hope to notch another victory on these waters during the Olympic competition. The Slovakian pair finished second to Canada at the Challenge and finished eighth at the world championships. The finalists will meet the teams from Romania, Hungary, Germany, and Great Britain, who advanced directly to the finals from the preliminary races.
Spain, Australia take first in semis to head to finals
The Spanish boat of Gregorio VICENTE, Miguel GARCIA, Jovino GONZALEZ, and Emilio MERCHAN defeated the Canadian foursome by .508, to earn top honors in the first heat of the semifinals of the men's kayak four 1000m. Bulgaria took third and posted the best time of the two third-place finishers in the heats to advance to the finals. In the second heat, Australia waited until the final 250 meters to make a move on the Swedish boat and pulled out the victory by .396 margin. The five boats will join Germany, Russia, Hungary and Poland in the finals on Saturday.
On the race: "I never felt so positive that I would have a good race," said Canada's Renn CRICHLOW.
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