Van Koverden Finishes Out Of Medals
23/08/2008 03:47
BEIJING - It was like an out-of-body experience for Adam van Koeverden.
Paddling as hard as he could down the stretch, the star kayaker from Oakville, Ont., could only watch as athletes he's beaten time and again blew by him in the men's K-1 1,000-metre final at the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
He ended up eighth out of nine boats, a shocking result for the athlete who had been touted as Canada's top medal favourite heading into Beijing and one who had won nearly every race he'd entered this season.
''The first thing that went through my head was 'What have I done? What did I do?''' a stunned van Koeverden said after the race. ''And then crossing the finish line, I think I said it out loud, 'What did I just do?' Was I completely out of it the whole way? Was I like hypnotized for 3 1/2 minutes? That's what it felt like.''
It was a result nobody would have predicted.
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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Well, so much for our "best chance" for an Olympic medal and Canada's vaunted flag-bearer. I still say that Ian Millar should have carried the Canadian colors.