And the Crowd Went WILD!
29th July 2012
Day one of Olympic Canoe Slalom competition at the Lee Valley White Water Centre proved to be a treat for the capacity crowd. Many were witnessing Canoe Slalom for the first time. Many had never seen it like this before!
It’s hard to over state just how awe inspiring & impressive the infrastructure is on site, with 12,000 seat grandstands reaching skyward, a beautifully dressed course & more cameras than on a Danny Boyle film set. This really is British Canoe Slalom’s ‘moment to shine’.
Spectators started arriving early & by the time competition got underway with Rafail Vergoyazov in the C1 Mens competition, the grandstands were practically full & everyone was chomping at the bit.
And there was an extra treat in store for the home crowd because David Florence had recently been promoted to No.1 in the World, meaning he’d be going off last & wearing the coveted No.1 bib, an honour he later said was really precious, given that he would be able to keep the bib after the games had finished.
The first runs were fairly cautious affairs with all paddlers getting settled & finding their feet on the course. David had a steady run but picked up two penalties putting him in 13th place & outside the qualification cut off.
In the Men’s K1 competition, Richard Hounslow went off 12th out of 22 & placed 14th, one spot above the cut off mark. Both David & Richard were given rapturous welcomes by the crowd & had there been a roof it would have been lifted high enough to see from Olympic Park.
So with neither David or Richard in a safe position after round one, the second run was going to be critical & a massive test for both paddlers. As the second runs got underway, it was clear that we had a great battle on our hands. The big names were by no means in a commanding position & reigning Olympic Champion Michael Martikan was worse off than David Florence after the first round.
Olympic Champions are hewn from a very special block though & Martikan put in a fantastic run to take the lead & send the crowd into a frenzy. Tony Estanguet failed to improve on his first run time & dropped down the placings, although still being safe for the semis & then it fell to David Florence to pull out the paddle of his life to stay in the competition.
There are times when athletes really prove their greatness & this was certainly an occasion when David stepped up to the plate. He didn’t win but came home with an impressive run that only had one ‘gasp moment’ to secure 5th place & a spot on the semi-final start line.
He later said that he’d not been in such a precarious position before at this level, with so much at stake but he just settled into his run & did what he needed to do.
For Richard Hounslow, the pressure was just as great. Lying in 14th after round one, just one place inside the cut off, he was vulnerable. As the second runs continued Rich slipped back overall to 16th by the time his turn came & the sense of risk was palpable.
The crowd erupted as he was announced & barely dropped a decibel all the way down! Rich was clearly in the zone & that trademark Hounslow smoothness was proving to be an asset. Clear all the way up to the final up stream gate, everyone sensed that he was on a great run & he finished safely & clear in 8th place, eventually settling in 11th at the end of competition, well within the qualification.
Talking later, Rich said that this was all about getting through to the semi-final, rather than competing to win the heat & this approach will serve both paddlers well as they progress.
Tomorrow David & Richard take their new found confidence in safely negotiating the individual heats through to the C2 heats & what a reception they’re likely to get too!
Joining Florence and Hounslow in the C2 competition tomorrow for Team GB are Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott. The duo will be off third from last as they are currently ranked 6th in the World, following a consistent 4th, 5th & 6th in the early season World Cup races.
For the past 12 years the C2 racing has been dominated by the Hochschorner brothers from Slovakia, who will be looking to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title.
Team GB’s sole female canoe slalom athlete, Lizzie Neave will also be in action tomorrow in the Kayak Singles. Confident following her World Cup bronze in Pau, France, she will be eager to make a mark on her home water. Neave will be looking to get herself amongst the world leaders, Corinna Kuhnle from Austria and Slovakia’s Jana Dukatova who have taken the Gold and Silver respectively at the past two World Championships.
PROGRAMME:
Canoe Slalom 29th July – 2nd 2012
Monday 30 July 13:30 - 17:30 Men's Canoe Double (C2): Heats
Women's Kayak (K1): Heats
Tuesday 31 July 13:30 - 15:55 Men's Canoe Single (C1): Semi-final, Final
Wednesday 1 August - 13:30 - 16:10 Men's Kayak (K1): Semi-final, Final
Thursday 2 August 13:30 - 17:00 Men's Canoe Double (C2): Semi-final, Final
Women's Kayak (K1): Semi-final, Final
THE TEAM:
Men’s C1 - David Florence
Men’s K1 - Richard Hounslow
Men’s C2 - David Florence & Richard Hounslow; Tim Baillie & Etienne Stott
Women’s K1 - Lizzie Neave