I feel sick. That headline couldn’t be any more unsightly. Not only does it not represent the sport of canoeing in which David Florence of Scotland won Great Britain’s first silver medal of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, but sustained reading of it is making me contort my face to terrifying degrees. Before now, I never knew that written words, when joined together in a horrific manner like above, could make you feel physically nauseous.
As you and I both try to get over the disastrous opening, let’s move on to the details of Florence’s triumph. It was late afternoon/early evening in China when the men’s C1 final commenced. Florence had earlier posted a time good enough for 4th place during the semi-finals, meaning a place consolidation simply wouldn’t suffice; he would have to push with all his might on his final run.
I admit that I didn’t see Florence’s supreme ultimate effort live, but the repeat showings in the Olympic round-up programme suggested he was practically faultless. Weaving his way through the gates, scything through the white water rapids with such tenacity, and such fighting spirit; he battled the waves for the entire length of the course, but never let them get the better of him, and powered through the finish line to top the standings comfortably with 3 competitors remaining.
You know how I just praised Florence for his steady head and control? I am left unable to say the same of the athlete that directly followed him. The Pole who was in 3rd prior to the final suffered what could only be described as a diabolical end to his Olympic dream, losing around 10 seconds trying to get through the second upstream gate. You had to feel sorry for the man; it wasn’t so much his fault as it was plain bad luck, when he got sucked into one eddy (similar to a whirlpool) after the other. Towards the end, he nearly capsized.
With the Polish entrant failing to register a time faster than that of Florence, it meant the Brit was guaranteed a minimum of a bronze – no mean feat in your first Olympic Games.
The second hurdle to overcome was the hope that 2nd placed man, Stanislav Ježek, from the Czech Republic, would likewise crumble under the pressure. And crumble he did. He hurtled down past the first few gates, navigating a large majority of them well, but he too fell victim to the strong currents. Losing time on his descent by taking a line slightly off the optimum one available shunted Florence up to a provisional silver.
It had suddenly become a very realistic opportunity for Florence to snatch the gold from the grasp of seasoned veteran, Michal Martikán. Unlike the previous two participants, however, the Slovak knew the taste of Olympic gold (he was champion in Atlanta 1996, and took silver in both Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004). Unsurprisingly, his experience prevailed, and Florence settled for 2nd place.
Congratulations to Mr. Florence for increasing our nation’s current medal haul. And the bonus, as a result? He’s probably now the most famous canoeist in the UK. Well, 2nd to the notorious Hartlepudlian, John Darwin, of course!
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