Togo Wins First Ever Olympic Medal
Boukpeti Shines in Men's Singles Kayak Slalom in Beijing Games
When the medal positions had been decided in the men's singles kayak slalom anyone watching could have been forgiven for thinking two men had somehow captured the gold medal. Of course, this wasn't the case.
Lefevre and Kauzer Struggle
Going into the men’s singles kayak slalom the Frenchman Fabien Lefevre and Slovenian Peter Kauzer were by far and away the pre-race favourites to take home the gold and silver medals. After Monday’s preliminary rounds everyone expected that Kauzer would go on and claim the gold after he blew away the opposition to finish a clear winner of the preliminaries. However, to win Olympic medals you have to produce your best when it is needed most. Sadly for the Slovenian contingent Kauzer couldn’t replicate his form from Monday and struggled in the Chinese waters, finishing in 13th place on the reconfigured course.
Lefevre posted a good first run but seriously struggled on his second to maintain any consistency down the course. All the Frenchmen’s hopes of winning gold were all but gone after the first few gates of his final run as he failed to fully get to grips with the challenge of the opening part of the course, known as the Dragon’s Bath. Despite not quite producing his best Lefevre did manage to win the silver medal.
Alexander Grimm Wins Gold
While the main contenders fell by the wayside, the world number three German Alexander Grimm came from behind after his first run in the semi final to post a time of 171.70 seconds. However, Grimm had an anxious wait after his fine performance as he had to watch three more competitors complete their final runs. When nobody managed to beat the benchmark set by Grimm, the elated German raised his hands in the air as he realised that he was now the Olympic champion.
Benjamin Boukpeti Claims Bronze
Coming into the Olympic Games, the Togo national, Boukpeti, was ranked a staggering 56th in the world. Nevertheless, Boukpeti negotiated his way through the course on Tuesday morning with expert precision and after the semi finals were complete Boukpeti had put himself in pole position. As a result of being first after the semi finals this meant he was the last person to go in the second lot of runs, therefore he knew the time he had to beat, set by Grimm. As Boukpeti set off, the crowd became boisterous as they cheered him all the way through his run. Boukpeti gave everything in order to claim the gold medal, taking the “S Turns” with pinpoint accuracy, but it wasn’t quite enough as he finished in third. Even though he fell slightly short of Grimm’s time, Boukpeti was nonetheless delighted as he began celebrating his bronze medal by snapping his paddle in half and raising his arms in the air.
Boukpeti didn’t win, however, Togo’s first Olympic medal ever will surely end up being one of the moments of the Beijing Olympics. Seeing the wild celebrations of a man who lost will no doubt be one of the enduring images of the Games and with good reason.
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