Attila Vajda, champion of the C1 1, 000 meters in the 2007 world canoe and kayak championships held in Germany in August, won the last ticket to final after finishing third in the semifinal in the China Open on Friday.
Vajda, also bronze medalist in Athens Games, lost chance to enter final directly after finishing in fifth place in heat one on Thursday, the first day of the four-day competition.
The top three finishers in each of the two heats of the C1 1,000 were qualified for finals directly.
The 2007 Good Luck Beijing Canoe/Kayak Flatwater China Open, served as a test event for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is being held in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing/Canoeing Park in northeast Beijing.
The park is the venue for rowing, canoe/kayak slalom and flatwater and marathon swimming events in Beijing Olympic Games and rowing events in Paralympic Games.
"I was a little tired. I came to train in the Chinese city of Nanjing one and a half days after the world canoe and kayak championships. I didn't get enough time for rest, and the hot weather in Nanjing also affected my training program," noted Vajda.
"It's good to win the gold medal in the China Open. But more important, I came here to watch the venue and temperature so as to work out better preparation plans for next August's Beijing Olympics," Vajda said.
"It's my dream to compete in the Beijing Games, and I'm confident of getting good results then at this same venue," the Hungarian told reporters in the mixed zone.
He acknowleded that some Chinese guys are very fast. "One (Yang Wenjun) finished in third place in the C1 500 in the 2007 world canoe and kayak championships."
Chinese women padders performed better than their men peers in Friday's semifinals. Two women crews won the chance to compete in finals after both finishing first in the semifinals, while all five men crews lost last chance to be the top three to be qualified for finals.
The Chinese women crews are Zhong Hongyan, the K1 500 padder, and Xu Linbei and Zhu Minyuan, the K2 500 pair.
It was a bitter day for Chinese Li Qiang as he lost narrowly to finish fourth on the C1 1,000-meter course.
The China Open has attracted 182 athletes from 18 countries and regions. The finals of men's K1, K2 and K4 1,000, C1 and C2 1,000, and women's K4 500 and those of men's K1 and K2 500, C1 and C2 500, and women's K1 and K2 500 will be on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article