Tim Brabants secured Team GB’s first ever Olympic Games canoeing gold medal as he dominated the men’s K1 1000 kayak final from start to finish on Friday (August 22).
A bronze medallist in the same event at the Sydney Games in 2000, Brabants finished fifth in Athens four years later before taking a year out of the sport to concentrate on his ‘other’ career as a medical doctor.
Since returning to competition he has gone from strength to strength, and as current European and world champion over the 1000m distance he went into Friday’s race at the Shunyi Canoeing-Rowing Park near Beijing as a medal favourite.
The first 500m of the race was played out as a head-to-head battle between Brabants and Canada’s Adam van Koeverden, but the British paddler pulled away strongly from the Canadian after 650m.
Norway’s Eirik Larsen, who ended with the silver medal, and the fast-finishing Australian Ken Wallace – who moved up from eighth place to clinch bronze – tried to apply some pressure but Brabants was simply too strong.
He crossed the line in 3:26.323 to take the gold medal , Team GB’s 18th at the Beijing Games, and will be hoping to repeat the feat in the final of the K1 500m event which he contests on Saturday.
"It's incredible, absolutely incredible," he said. "The race went 100 per cent to plan. I need to thank my coach Eric Farrell for 15 years of coaching and now I am Olympic champion.
"I've had a great season and to finish it up with the most enjoyable race I've ever had is fantastic. When you realise that you have crossed the line first you don't feel tired. All the build up of lactic acid is gone.
"London is definitely on the cards now. Don't be surprised to see me in London ready to represent Great Britain again."
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