Category — Canoeing

Slovak twins Peter and Pavol Hochschorner bag their third consecutive gold medal in the Canoe/Kayak Slalom Canoe Double. This is the second gold medal for Slovakia. Earlier, Martikan Michal ruled the men’s slalom canoe single to win Slovakia’s first gold.

If American athletes were contenders in this event, expect their “crybaby fans” encouraged by their media to moan and complain about how unfair it is that twins — who think alike, have better coordination, and who communicate via ESP — have an unfair advantage over their American idols. But maybe not, maybe they will only complain against Chinese girls.

Related:
Michal Martikan Bags Slovakia’s First Gold Medal

Photo source: yahoo.com

Slovakia’s Michal Martikan wins the gold medal for men’s slalom canoe single. This should make up for his disappointment in Athens where a penalty relegated him to second place. According to Reuters, Martikan, then only 17 years old, won his first [and Slovakia's first] Olympic gold during the 1996 Olympic Games.

Photo credit: Shaun Botterill via beijing2008

Why is he given the flagbearing honors? Because he won a gold medal in Athens [canoeing] and currently holds the world record for the Canadian canoe C1 event.

Photo source: beijing2008

Our condolences to the family and friends of Hungarian canoeist Gyorgy Kolonic, who passed away yesterday. His fans are making tribute videos to Gyorgy and I’m uploading one such video here.

Here’s a report from the AP of his untimely death.

Two-time Olympic canoeing gold medalist Gyorgy Kolonics died Tuesday after collapsing in his canoe during training.

The 36-year-old Kolonics lost consciousness and paramedics were not able to resuscitate him, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said, adding that the probable cause of death was heart failure.

“Kolonics was a true legend of Hungarian sports, an athlete at the peak of his career who was in a class by himself,” committee president Pal Schmitt said in a statement.

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