Slovakia's Machal Martikan, the world's No. 1 canoeist, outperformed his peers Thursday in the heats of men's C1 in the "2007 Good Luck Beijing" China Open Canoe/Kayak Slalom.
Martikan, who took silvers in the men's C1 at the Sydney and Athens Olympics, finished the 280m course in 96.85 seconds in the first run of the men's C1 heat and 91.76 seconds in the second.
The world's No. 2 canoeist Nico Bettge from Germany finished second, ahead of the No. 4 David Florence from Britain, and No. 3 Tony Estanguet from France, who won two golds in the category at both the Sydney and Athens Olympics.
Three Chinese canoeists competed in the heats alongside 20 foreign competitors, but only Teng Zhiqiang reached the semifinals with other 11 peers after finishing in 6th place.
Germany's Alexander Grimm, however, would feel rather disappointed in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing/Canoeing Park in northeastern outskirt of Beijing, the exact venue for Canoe/Kayak events in 2008 Olympics.
The world's No. 1 kayakist failed to win the chance to compete in Friday's semifinal after finishing 18th in the men's K1 heats. The fastest 15 of 34 kayakists entered the semifinal.
The world's 2nd seed kayakist Erik Pfannmoller, also from Germany, finished first with total time of 180.96 seconds in the two heat runs, trailing eighth seed France's Julien Billaut and 17th seed American Brett Heyl.
All three Chinese kayakists failed to advance into the semifinals with Ding Fuxue and Huang Cunguang missed one of the 20 gates in the water course in the first run of the heat.
Li Xin, chef de mission of Chinese canoe/kayak team, said that Chinese canoeing and kayaking slalom crew members have a long way to go to improve basic techniques in the country's weak event.
He added that the man-made course in the Shunyi water park is more difficult than the natural training one in the southwestern province of Guizhou.
Li's remarks are echoed by the many foreign canoeists and kayakists.
Estanguet said he didn't perform the best to his ability: "It takes time to adjust to the rather difficult course."
"The current is surprisingly rapid and I have to concentrate 100 percent of my attention from the starting point to the finish line," said Germany's kayakist Fabian Dorfler.
A total of 110 athletes from 17 countries and regions compete in the men's canoe single (C1), kayak single (K1), canoe double (C2), and women's kayak single (K1).
The four-day China Open Canoe/Kayak Slalom, which kicked off on Thursday, is one of a series of test events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Source: Xinhua
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