Chinese paddlers on way to win slalom Olympic medal
Thursday, 14 August 2008
BEIJING, Aug 13 : Three Chinese paddlers made a strong start in the Olympic canoeing slalom racing Wednesday and looked likely to win the host country's first ever slalom Olympic medal.
The combination of Hu Minghai and Shu Junrong finished fifth in the first run of men's canoe double (C2) heats with a two-second penalty for hitting a gate. But a clean second run got them make the final with a third place among 12 crews. The top 10 made the semifinal.
Their time of 190.64 seconds was 3.91 seconds slower than Slovakia's twin brothers, Pavol and Peter Hochschorner. The powerful brothers, who won gold in Sydney and Athens, are poised to extend their years-long dominance in the C2 event and win their unprecedented third Olympic gold in Beijing.
The combination of Hu Minghai and Shu Junrong finished fifth in the first run of men's canoe double (C2) heats with a two-second penalty for hitting a gate. But a clean second run got them make the final with a third place among 12 crews. The top 10 made the semifinal.
Their time of 190.64 seconds was 3.91 seconds slower than Slovakia's twin brothers, Pavol and Peter Hochschorner. The powerful brothers, who won gold in Sydney and Athens, are poised to extend their years-long dominance in the C2 event and win their unprecedented third Olympic gold in Beijing.