British Kayak athlete, Ed McKeever claimed victory in the men’s K1 200m amidst thousands of screaming fans on the Dorney Lake on August 11, 2012. The 28 year old claimed the gold while Spaniard Saul Craviotto Rivero took the silver and Canada’s Mark de Jonge got the bronze.
The finish line was crossed by McKeever in 36.246 seconds and won Britain’s first ever Olympic Canoe sprint gold medal after Tim Brabants in the year 2008. McKeever said, “I’m so happy, I feel relief. It sounds stupid but it’s not elation, more relief, and I’m so happy to do it front of a home crowd.”
The whole week went barren for Britain in the canoe sprint events, after which McKeever raised the hopes of a medal after he set a record at the Olympic heats as Piotr Siemionowski crashed out. Overall, McKeever slipped to the third fastest time in the semi finals behind de Jong and Rovero.
There was just a difference of 0.024 seconds between the three. But on the final day, McKeever felt the energy from the screaming crowd of about 30,000. The 28 year old is currently training to become an accountant. Ed got a blistering start which gave him an early lead and soon got in to a smooth padding rhythm.
