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Martikan and Kauzer best today
| Beijing 2008 qualification C1 men K1 men |
Monday 11. August 2008
Slovakian C1 legend Michal Martikan signalled his intentions of ending his back-to-back Olympic silver medal streak with two unmatched runs in the heats of the Olympic slalom C1 competition at the impressive man-made wild water course at Shunyi, north East of Beijing.
Martikan, who has had to play second fiddle to France's Tony Estanguet at the last two Olympics since he won gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was in a class of his own as the sixteen athletes raced for the twelve berths in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Martikan's two clear runs were the fastest of the day, but importantly the stocky, slight Slovakian showed that he has the combination of strength and subtle technique to master the demands posed by the powerful and technical 280 metre long channel.
His speed and glide in the upstream gates set him apart from the rest of the field, as he took the first step towards a second Olympic gold with a brace of fast runs.
Martikan however downplayed his times. "The times are not important," he said. "The real race starts tomorrow, with the semi-finals and the final."
The fastest time of the day belonged to Great Britain's David Florence, who bounced back from posting the seventh fastest first run, with a blistering 82 second second run that has set a new benchmark for this course.
Germany's Jan Benzien also made his point by being the only other paddler to cover the course in less that 85 seconds with an impressive clear second run.
Czech Republic ace Stanislav Jezek also put his hand up with two solid and fast runs that kept him at the top of the leaderboard until he was trumped by the speed of Florence and Benzien.
Defending Olympic champion Tony Estanguet was nervy and hesitant on the first day of competition on what was widely regarded as a fair and manageable course set on the powerful 17 cumecs of water. After a jittery first run he posted a far more convincing second to finish the heats in sixth place.
Martikan made his intentions clear from the outset with a clinical and aggressive first run, with his trademark fast glide and speed on the upstream gates allowing him to post the fastest first run time.
With Spaniard Ander Elosegui and Russian Alexander Lipatov also posting fast clear rounds, Australian Robin Bell found himself sixth, after a sluggish top section of the course.
C1 men qualification results
Photo gallery C1 men
Slovenian Peter Kauzer secured the top seeding for Tuesday's semi-finals with back-to-back fastest times in the heats stage of the Mens K1 slalom competition at the Shunyi Olympic Canoeing park. The 24 year old from Hrastnik set himself up as the man to beat in his first Olympic games, racing against a field loaded with seasoned Olympic stars.
Proving that his recent victory in a World Cup in Tacen was no fluke, Kauzer upstaged Germany's Alexander Grimm, whose first run was marred by a two second penalty for a touch on gate 16, the pumped up Italian Daniele Molmenti and the dogged Pole Dariusz Popiela to top the list of paddlers viewing for berths in the semi finals on Tuesday.
Kauzer topped the standings despite posting the fifth fastest time on his second run, but hinted that this was part of a broader strategy. "Tuesday is going to be a very hard day. That's why I took it easy on the second run. Even though I made no mistakes today I think that I can do better tomorrow," he added.
Another of the stars was Togo's Benjamin Boukpeti. A sluggish first run that included a two-second penalty incurred at the troublesome upstream gate 20 proved to be the ideal inspiration for him, as he blitzed the course on his second run in the fastest time of the day to finish in eighth place, and in the process became the first African slalom paddler to qualify for the semi-finals of an Olympic slalom competition.
"I just want to give of my best," said Boukpeti. "If the semi-final is anything like my second run today then anything is possible!"
America's Scott Parsons produced the days hard-luck-story. After finishing the first round in third place, he was on track for an even better second run when he misjudged the tricky upstream gate 20, and the judges ruled that his head had not passed between the poles, resulting in a fifty second penalty that saw him tumble to sixteenth position, and out of the competition.
Swiss paddler Kurt Michael saw his Olympic dreams sink in the churning water of the Shunyi course when he undid a solid first run that had left him in fourth place with a messy second run that included two two-second penalties for touching gates, and saw him slide down the leaderboard to nineteenth. "I blew it completely," he said afterwards. "I am really disappointed."
Joining him and Michael amongst the casualties on day one were Chile's Pablo McCandless, Japan's Kazuki Yazawa, Atanas Nokowski, and, to the disappointment of the cheering Chinese fans, local K1 paddler Fuxue Ding.
The semi-finals and finals will take place on Tuesday.
Martikan, who has had to play second fiddle to France's Tony Estanguet at the last two Olympics since he won gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was in a class of his own as the sixteen athletes raced for the twelve berths in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Martikan's two clear runs were the fastest of the day, but importantly the stocky, slight Slovakian showed that he has the combination of strength and subtle technique to master the demands posed by the powerful and technical 280 metre long channel.
His speed and glide in the upstream gates set him apart from the rest of the field, as he took the first step towards a second Olympic gold with a brace of fast runs.
Martikan however downplayed his times. "The times are not important," he said. "The real race starts tomorrow, with the semi-finals and the final."
The fastest time of the day belonged to Great Britain's David Florence, who bounced back from posting the seventh fastest first run, with a blistering 82 second second run that has set a new benchmark for this course.
Germany's Jan Benzien also made his point by being the only other paddler to cover the course in less that 85 seconds with an impressive clear second run.
Czech Republic ace Stanislav Jezek also put his hand up with two solid and fast runs that kept him at the top of the leaderboard until he was trumped by the speed of Florence and Benzien.
Defending Olympic champion Tony Estanguet was nervy and hesitant on the first day of competition on what was widely regarded as a fair and manageable course set on the powerful 17 cumecs of water. After a jittery first run he posted a far more convincing second to finish the heats in sixth place.
Martikan made his intentions clear from the outset with a clinical and aggressive first run, with his trademark fast glide and speed on the upstream gates allowing him to post the fastest first run time.
With Spaniard Ander Elosegui and Russian Alexander Lipatov also posting fast clear rounds, Australian Robin Bell found himself sixth, after a sluggish top section of the course.
C1 men qualification results
Photo gallery C1 men
Slovenian Peter Kauzer secured the top seeding for Tuesday's semi-finals with back-to-back fastest times in the heats stage of the Mens K1 slalom competition at the Shunyi Olympic Canoeing park. The 24 year old from Hrastnik set himself up as the man to beat in his first Olympic games, racing against a field loaded with seasoned Olympic stars.
Proving that his recent victory in a World Cup in Tacen was no fluke, Kauzer upstaged Germany's Alexander Grimm, whose first run was marred by a two second penalty for a touch on gate 16, the pumped up Italian Daniele Molmenti and the dogged Pole Dariusz Popiela to top the list of paddlers viewing for berths in the semi finals on Tuesday.
Kauzer topped the standings despite posting the fifth fastest time on his second run, but hinted that this was part of a broader strategy. "Tuesday is going to be a very hard day. That's why I took it easy on the second run. Even though I made no mistakes today I think that I can do better tomorrow," he added.
Another of the stars was Togo's Benjamin Boukpeti. A sluggish first run that included a two-second penalty incurred at the troublesome upstream gate 20 proved to be the ideal inspiration for him, as he blitzed the course on his second run in the fastest time of the day to finish in eighth place, and in the process became the first African slalom paddler to qualify for the semi-finals of an Olympic slalom competition.
"I just want to give of my best," said Boukpeti. "If the semi-final is anything like my second run today then anything is possible!"
America's Scott Parsons produced the days hard-luck-story. After finishing the first round in third place, he was on track for an even better second run when he misjudged the tricky upstream gate 20, and the judges ruled that his head had not passed between the poles, resulting in a fifty second penalty that saw him tumble to sixteenth position, and out of the competition.
Swiss paddler Kurt Michael saw his Olympic dreams sink in the churning water of the Shunyi course when he undid a solid first run that had left him in fourth place with a messy second run that included two two-second penalties for touching gates, and saw him slide down the leaderboard to nineteenth. "I blew it completely," he said afterwards. "I am really disappointed."
Joining him and Michael amongst the casualties on day one were Chile's Pablo McCandless, Japan's Kazuki Yazawa, Atanas Nokowski, and, to the disappointment of the cheering Chinese fans, local K1 paddler Fuxue Ding.
The semi-finals and finals will take place on Tuesday.
K1 men qualification results
Photo gallery K1 men
Source: www.canoeicf.com
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