Olympics canoe and kayak sprint results: August 19
By Brad Weiss
The final four canoe and kayak events of the 2016 Rio Olympics got started on Friday, as the Olympians competed in the preliminary and semifinal rounds.
In the first competition of the day, the men took to their kayaks for the Men’s kayak single 200m. The day belonged to Great Britain’s Liam Heath and France’s Maxime Beaumont, who had the fastest times during the preliminary round. In the semifinals, both Heath and Beaumont won their heats, advancing to Saturday’s final.
In Semifinal 1, the competition was stacked, as two medalists from the 2012 Olympics qualified. Spain’s Saul Craviotto Rivero and Canada’s Mark DeJunge will try for more medals on Saturday.
During the second event Friday, the men raced in the Men’s canoe double 1000m. As expected, the Sebastian Brendel-led German team had the fastest time during the preliminary round, earning an automatic bid to Friday’s final. Not to be outdone, Brazil’s Isaquias dos Santos led his team to automatic bid as well, as he continues his remarkable Olympics.
Those two groups are the ones to beat in the finals, as they are clearly the class of this event.
The final women’s canoe and kayak event was the next event on Thursday, as they participated in the Women’s kayak four 500m. Heading into the competition, the Danuta Kozak-led Hungarian team was supposed to dominate. They did just that, racing out to the fastest time in the preliminary to secure a spot in Saturday’s final. Maryna Pautaran and her Belarus team also clinched in the preliminaries, after a strong run.
A third country to keep an eye on is Denmark, who is led by Emma Jorgensen. Denmark qualified during their semifinal run on Friday.
The Men’s kayak four 1000m rounded out the competition on Friday, with Germany again dominating an event. The foursome of Max Rendschmidt, Max Hoff, Marcus Gross, and Tom Liebscher raced to the second-best time in the preliminary round, securing a spot in the finals. Rendschmidt and Gross have already won Olympic gold in Rio, finishing first in the Men’s kayak double 1000m.
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The Czech Republic team had the fastest time during the prelims, as they clinched a spot in the finals as well. The Portugal team of Emanuel Silva, Fernando Pimenta, Joao Ribeiro, and David Fernandes should also challenge for a medal on Saturday.
The finals in these four events will be held on Saturday, as the canoe and kayak sprint competition for the 2016 Rio Olympics will come to a close.