CANOE SLALOM: Australia was behind canoe slalom paddler Dan Watkins today, who made his first Olympic final after qualifying second fastest in the semi-finals of the men’s canoe at Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre.
Watkins recorded an impressive time of 101.28 in a clean run in the semis that saw him finish only +0.63 seconds behind the fastest paddler, Frenchman Martin Thomas.
Just over an hour later and taking a lot of confidence from the semi into the final, Watkins came out of the start flying, before unfortunately getting into some trouble at gate 16, when he got stuck in the eddy. This ultimately cost him some precious time in an otherwise strong and fast run.
While it was not an Olympic medal, Watkins was pleased with his performance and able to take away some learnings from his first Olympic Games.
“Honestly I’m really happy to have just been in the final,” Watkins said.
“I’ve learnt a lot about racing under pressure – my first run of the Olympics was pretty average but I’ve just gotten better and better every run.
“The Olympics is a completely different ball game to anything else, and I’m really happy with how I’ve performed,” he said.
Watkins came into the Tokyo Games with hopes of a finals berth, but did not discredit the experience and success of his competitors in the process.
“The Olympics might be a smaller field, but the calibre of the field is incredible,” Watkins said.
“Every single person on the start line is either a multiple medallist, or has at least been in the top ten before and is capable of making the podium,” he said.
With racing done for Watkins, he will now keep a keen eye on his teammates, with Jess Fox set to compete in the women’s K1 semi-finals Tuesday afternoon with the final scheduled later that day. Dual Olympian Lucien Delfour will also hit the rapids on Wednesday in the men’s K1 with Fox to add the women’s C1 to her busy race schedule.
“For me now, I’ll watch my teammates compete, and then head back to Tasmania have a little time off, reset and go again. Paris 2024 is definitely my goal,” Watkins concluded.
Tokyo 2020 Men’s Canoe C1 – Final
1 Benjamin Savsek, SLO 98.25 (0)
2 Lukas Rohan, CZE 101.96 (2)
3 Sideris Tasiadis, GER 103.70 (0)
9 Daniel Watkins, AUS 108.18 (2) +9.93
