British paddler Tim Brabants snatched the gold medal in the men's kayak single (K1) 1,000m at the Beijing Olympics held in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Friday with a result of three minutes and 26.323 seconds.
This is Britain's first Olympic gold medal in flatwater canoe/kayak races. It has only two bronze medals up to now.
The runner-up was Norway's Eirik Veraas Larsen with a result of 3:27.342, followed by Australia's Ken Wallace with a result of 3:27.485.
Tim took the lead in the whole race and he did not slow down in the final sprint. He won the heat race on Monday within three minutes and 27.828 seconds, having secured a final berth.
"It's the strongest race today. I gave my best shot. I'd like to win tomorrow. I am feeling strong for tomorrow. I will see what happens, maybe London as well," Tim told reporters in the mixed zone.
"It's incredible, absolutely incredible. The race went one hundred percent to plan. I need to thank my coach Eric Farrell for 15 years of coaching and now I'm Olympic champion," he said.
The 31-year-old champion also said that he enjoyed much family support.
"They've been fantastic. I'm so happy to have my dad out here with my sisters. They've given me fantastic support both psychologically and financially and now that I'm Olympic champion hopefully I can give something back," he noted.
The silver medallist Larsen also felt good for the race.
"It's a great race. It's the best in four years. Of course I'd like to win a gold medal, but I cannot do more than that," he said.
Germany and Hungary are two powerhouses in flatwater racing. They have reaped 23 and 17 Olympic gold medals in the sport so far respectively.
The flatwater competition kicked off on Monday. About 248 athletes from 50 countries and regions contest in 12 events during the six-day races.
The world best time for the event is 3 minutes and 24.495 seconds, a result created by New Zealand's Ben Fouhy in Poznan, Poland, in 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)