Liam Heath makes a splash with gold in the canoe sprint
Kayaker adds K1 victory to K2 silver and bronze won in Rio and London – taking title won by fellow Briton in 2012
IT wasn’t even 9am back home yesterday when Liam Heath secured Great Britain’s 25th gold in Rio with victory in a fast and furious men’s kayak single 200m final. The women’s hockey team, gold medals newly hanging from their necks, hadn’t even made it to bed.
Earlier in the week, Heath and partner Jon Schofield followed up their K2 200m bronze at London 2012 with a silver medal upgrade. Now he’s completed the set.
And it also means Britain’s impressive record of defending titles they won in London – so rare for previous hosts – continues, following Ed McKeever’s victory at Eton Dorney in 2012.
“It has been in my mind every single day for the last four years, but I felt that I went into automatic pilot,” said Heath, who splish-splashed to victory in 35.197 seconds, ahead of France’s Maxime Beaumont and Spain’s Saul Craviotto. “I’ve got the set now, after bronze in London and silver and gold here, and it’s incredible.
“I crossed the line looked around and had an inkling I was in front, but then when you finally see your name up on the board it starts to sink in a bit. It’s an absolutely incredible feeling. So many people have been behind me and their efforts have combined into one moment when you cross that line – it’s pretty intense.
“The slight headwind made the race a bit longer, so I had to try to keep the pace at the end of the race. I thought I had won, but I was just so focused on my lane and those work blocks which are your finish point, that I’d blanked everything out.”
Heath looked to be drifting away from the sport seven years ago, until the 200m sprint distance was introduced to the Olympic programme. It persuaded him to pick up his paddle again and, at the age of 25, he was selected for the British team.
“Essentially it’s what I’ve worked for all my life,” he said. “I just started coming back into the sport in 2009 after leaving it without any thought of competing again. To think if I hadn’t come back I’d be missing out on this is quite scary.”
Schofield played a key role in making sure his team-mate was ready for yesterday’s race.
“It’s so emotional to see one of your best friends do that,” he said. “I have seen all the work he has put in and how much he deserves it. He can truly inspire a generation back home – there is no point in doing any of this if it is not having a positive impact on peoples’ lives.”
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Inbee Park claimed the first Olympic gold in women’s golf since 1900 as Britain’s Charley Hull came up short in her bid for a medal.
Park carded a closing 66 at Reserva de Marapendi to finish on 16 under par, five shots clear of world No 1 Lydia Ko, who birdied the last to claim silver ahead of China’s Shanshan Feng.
Japan’s Harukyo Nomura, American Stacy Lewis and South Korea’s Hee Young Yang shared fourth place on nine under, with Hull tied for seventh another shot back with Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Australia’s Minjee Lee.
Park took a two-shot lead into the final round and was six clear after a hat-trick of birdies from the third and another on the eighth, before Feng closed the gap with a birdie on the 10th.
Park bogeyed the 10th while Feng birdied the 11th in the group ahead, but Park quickly regained her composure and birdies on the 13th, 15th and 17th sealed victory. Scotland’s Catriona Matthew carded a closing 70 to finish 29th.