Alexander Grimm of Germany on Tuesday won the Olympic canoeing slalom kayak single (K1) title in Beijing, winning his country's first gold medal at Beijing Olympics.

The world number three won the close racing with a combined result of 171.70 seconds, 1.60 seconds ahead of Fabien Lefevre of France, bronze medalist in Athens.

Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo took the bronze with a time of 173.45, winning the first medal for the small western African country .

Grimm, who won a World Cup title in 2007, finished only fourth in the semifinal, but a good-form in the final helped him to stand on the top of the podium.

"It was my dream since I was a small child," the 22-year-old German said. "Everything just worked today. I've achieved my goal."

The gold came as a little surprise for Grimm. "I knew it was enough for a medal but I didn't know it was enough for Gold," the German said. "If you try and gamble on this course then you are more than likely going to lose."

"It's unbelievable to win a medal (silver). This year was my year. It's taken me 10 years to get here," Lefevre told reporters in the mixed zone.

Source:Xinhua