And just like that the World’s greatest sporting spectacle is over and all will have to wait another 4 years; to watch or compete. South Africa’s best marathon men first showed us they are fairly useful Olympic Sprinters when they forced their way into the K2 semi’s. This was previously a 1000m race but shortened to 500m in Paris, making it even more sprinty. The racing started with 4 heats each with 5 or 6 boats, with the first two going straight to the two semi-final races and the rest going to the two quarter final races, where the fastest four would progress to the semis while the others would go home. In their heat, Hamish and Andy (aka Borat) had a strong first 250m and were right in the mix before the Australians (Van der Westhuizen & Green, the 2021 K2 1000m Olympic champs), pulled away to take win, ahead of the Hungarians and Czechs with Hamish & Andy finishing 4th in a time of 1min 33.25 seconds. The winners of all 4 heats put down times of approximately 1min 28 seconds. In the quarter final Hamish & Andy looked really strong and finished in a great time of 1 min 29.75 seconds, easily taking them through to the semis. Andy said that as marathon paddlers, newbies to sprints and the underdogs, they were stoked that they went so well to come second their quarter. In the semi they came desperately close to making the A final but ended up 6th and were squeezed into the B final where they came 4th placing them 12th overall – wow – well done to the marathon guys. In the A final Germany led from start to finish, while the Aussie favourites who were second for 99% of the way were beaten by the Hungarians in brilliant racing.
Hamish said they had both been focusing on the K2 event, but they also paddled the longer K1 1000m event. Here there were also the heats with the first two going straight to the two semi-final races and the rest going to the quarter final races, and Hamish and Andy ended up paddling against each other in one of these. Again, our marathon men looked great with Hamish coming second, just ahead of Andy, so Hamish went through the semis while Andy had to sit out. In the semi, Hamish was looking good all the way but was just squeezed down to 6th and into the B final where he was in one of the outside lanes where the slower guys go. The start was fast and at the 150m mark Hamish was coming last by a boat length while the Aussie was leading. But at the 300m mark Hamish was back in the mix, and then at 400m he was leading with the commentators saying this is crazy, where did he come from, how is the marathon man doing this. At 600m he had a boat length over the entire field, and it looked the race was easily his. It was incredible, but then the other guys found another gear, and started closing the gap till there was nothing in it at the end. Where track sprinters sprinter lunge forward in desperation for the win, kayak sprinters lean back in a tight race and there was literally a photo finish, but Hamish took the win in what the commentators called the greatest upset of the entire championships, going to the young 24-year-old South African marathon man. It was a fantastic win, with a time that would have placed him 4th in the A final. But 9th at the Olympics for a complete novice in the world of international sprinting is brilliant. As one our Dabs guys said, imagine what SA could achieve if we had a structured Sprint program like the other nations at the Olympics have. The A final was also a fantastic race won by the experienced Czech Dostal, who was been medaling since London, but this was his first Gold, beating the Hungarians.
In the ladies K2 500m, also with 4 heats each with 5 or 6 boats, each was won in a time of between 1min 39 and 1min 41. Our girls, Tiffany & Esti were in heat 2 up against the New Zealanders (Carrington a 5-time gold medalist, and Hoskin) who won easily while unfortunately our girls were never really in the mix, finishing in a time of 1min 52:14. As with the men all those not in the top 2 went to the quarters, and although Tiffany & Esti put down a better time of 1min 46, they still came last and that was the end of their K2 racing. In the A Final the Kiwis were just too good and blew the rest of the field away to earn back-to-back K2 Gold Olympic medals.
Tiffany & Esti also paddled in the women’s K1 500m where the fastest 2 in each heat went straight to the semis and all the others went to the 4 quarter finals, where the fastest 5 would then make the semis. Both Esti (who started really well and moved up to 4th) and Tiffany ended up 6th in their respective races and didn’t go any further. In the end it was Lisa Carrington who won the K1 ladies race, and in doing so she stole the entire paddling show; first taking Gold in the K4’s, then in the K2’s and then in the K1’s with her beautiful style. Carrington now 35, has earnt 8 gold medals making her the Queen of Canoeing. Fantastic.
For most, competing at the Olympics is a distant dream, but there are those who make dreams come true, and we have no doubt that many have been inspired by what has been achieved in this last week or two. What a spectacle – who will we see earning Olympic pride when the Games arrive in Los Angeles?