Brabants paddles into record books

13 April 2012

Tim Brabants paddled into history today when he became the first Brit to win an Olympic canoe sprint medal by capturing bronze at the Sydney Games in the men's K1 1000 metres race.  

The 23-year-old, who follows on from Paul Ratcliffe's silver medal in the men's K1 canoe/kayak slalom on Day Five of the Games, had the third fastest time (54.647 seconds) over the final 250m to edge Israel's Michael Kolganov by 0.04 secs.

"One of my rowing friends said this week that if you didn't feel like you were going to die as you crossed the line then you hadn't really given it all you've got," Brabants said.

"I felt like I was going to die today."

The fourth year medical student from Walton-on-Thames finished third despite lying in fifth place at the halfway mark.

Norway's defending champion Knut Holmann (3:33.269) took the gold while Bulgaria's controversial Petar Merkov (3:34.649), at the centre of drugs allegations, secured silver.

It was an awkward start for Brabants and the others when the gates failed to drop down at the first attempt.

When they did drop on the re-start, Argentinian Javier Andres Correa and Spaniard Emilio Merchan led the pack over the first 100m.

Correa quickly established a two-thirds of a boat length lead which he built into a 0.810 second gap over Holmann at the 250m mark.

Merkov was third, followed by Brabants after that opening leg.

Holmann began to make his move at 350m and stormed ahead of the Argentinian to lead by 0.35 seconds halfway while Brabants slipped back to fifth.

The Norwegian continued to build his advantage over the next 200m, enjoying a third of a boat length lead over Correa and never being seriously threatened by Merkov, who surged into second place with just 250m to go.

"It was my plan to go out fast and find my rhythm so I could just float along until I reached the 500m mark," Holmann said. "It worked. I had him (Merkov) in my sights all the way and, at the 500m mark, I felt strong and I knew I was going to win it."

Merkov held on to second while Brabants, in a close finish passed Correa (3:35.687) and fended off Kolganov (3:35.099).

"I kept my head together and pushed really hard," Brabants said.

"It was a bit tense at the start when the gates didn't drop down the first time and we had to do the start again.

"I am really pleased, I feel like I can now race against the best of them.

"I just tried to concentrate on doing my own race.

"My target was to get in the final and then get in the top five. Now I've got a medal. It's all gone perfectly."

So 'Rule Britannia' gathers steam with the country holding 23 medals in these Games.

Now the attention turns to Merkov, whom Bulgarian press agencies claim returned positive tests for a banned diuretic two weeks before the games along with his compatriot, Marian Dimitrov who competes in the two-man kayak.

The International Canoe Federation are attempting to locate the results of those positive tests in laboratories in Bulgaria, but without success.

Bulgaria must file a complaint to the IOC before any action can be taken.

If the Bulgarian were to be stripped of his medal, Brabants would grab silver.

Yesterday ICF president Ulrich Feldhoff said: "I have tried by fax to get an answer from the Bulgarian Anti-doping Commission but until now have received no answer.

"We have also tried to make phone contact and that has also not been successful. The two phone numbers are constantly engaged."

Meanwhile, the stunning medal success for Britain following their meagre haul of 15 in Atlanta four years ago rolls on.

"This is our first Olympic medal in this discipline," said Alan Williams, Brabants' coach.

"It's been a long time coming but it's well worth the wait.

"It's a real inspiration. We had four or five people here too who just missed out on the finals by a second or so."

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