II - A Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games

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VOLUME TWO THE GAMES
Canoe/Kayak
Volume Two
Chapter Five
7. Previous page:
Competitors in the men's
K4 500 m qualifying heats
pass the Olympic rings,
an area where the medal
ceremonies will be held
8. Strong winds delayed
the start of the final day
of competition by four
hours. Athletes leave
the course to empty water
from their kayaks after
attempting a start in
the men's K1 500 m
9. A spectator is pulled
along by Andreas Dittmer
of Germany after his
successful race for gold
in the men's C1 1000 m
10. Beniamino Bonomi
and Antonio Rossi of Italy
celebrate winning the gold
medal in the men's K2
1000 m regatta
11. Florin Popescu and
Mitica Pricop of Romania
are the new gold medallists
in the men's C2 1000 m
194 5. The Competition
STU FORSTER/ALLSPORT
HAMISH BLAIR/ALLSPORT
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Mens C1 1000 m
Another great race was the men's C1 1000 m final. Opalev
from the Russian Federation led at 250 m, 500 m and 750 m,
but Germany's Andreas Dittmer pushed inexorably to the
front, leaving Opalev in sixth place. It was Dittmer with
gold, Cuba's Ledys Frank Balceiro with silver, 1.692 seconds
behind, and the bronze went to Canada's Steve Giles. Dittmer
said, "It was wonderful, I looked left and right and saw that I
was in the clear. It was the perfect race. I started out slow in
the beginning, I couldn't keep up with the four of the leaders
in the beginning so I decided to hold back and then I saw the
others fading toward the end and I knew I could win. After
winning the C2 in Atlanta now I've won the C1 here. I'm very,
very happy."
Men's C2 500 m
Hungary's Ferenc Novak and Imre Pulai won the gold, narrowly
defeating Poland's Pawel Baraszkiewicz and Daniel Jedraszko.
Romania's Florin Popescu and Mitica Pricop won the bronze.
Men's C2 1000 m
The Romanian pair of Florin Popescu and Mitica Pricop won
the gold in the C2 1000 m, defeating Leobaldo Pereira and
QUENTIN JONES/FAIRFAX
Ibrahin Rojas of Cuba. Germany and the Russian Federation
battled for the bronze, with the German pair of Lars Kober and
Stefan Utess too strong in the final stages.
Men's K1 500 m
The last day of racing got off to a terrible start, courtesy of
Sydney's unseasonable weather. The wind and water lashed
at competitors' boats, making it almost impossible to even get
to the start line. The first race of the day was the men's K1
500 m. Bulgaria's Petar Merkov was beaten by his nemesis,
Norway's Knut Holmann, by a margin of 0.546 seconds.
Both men displayed great courage in a titanic finish as the
weather showed no signs of slackening. The bronze medal
was won by Israel's Michael Kolganov.
Men's K1 1000 m
There were many highlights at this regatta, but one of the best
was the first race on Saturday 30 September – the men's K1
1000 m final. Argentina's Andres Correa got off to a fast start,
but was slowly overhauled by Knut Holmann of Norway, who
gradually drew away, while the Argentinean slipped to fifth.
Holmann also edged out Bulgaria's Petar Merkov, by 1.38
seconds. After the race Holmann said, "It was my plan to go
out fast and find my rhythm so I could just float along until
I reached the 500 m mark. It worked."
The overjoyed bronze medallist, Tim Brabants of Great Britain,
had more than one reason to celebrate. Not only had he taken
the bronze, he had won Great Britain's first sprint medal.
Men's K2 500 m
As the men's K2 500 m rolled around, competitors had to
compete against a 40 kph headwind and waves. The paddlers
HAMISH BLAIR/ALLSPORT