Olympics in Brief

Water torture

Canoeing: Olympic medals proved elusive for Great Britain’s sprint canoeists on the still waters of the regatta lake at Schinias, with Tim Brabants in the K1 1,000 metres and the partnership of Ian Wynne and Paul Darby-Dowman in the K2 1,000 metres finishing down the field. Brabants broke the unofficial world record in his K1 qualifier but was fourth in the final, while Wynne and Darby-Dowman finished seventh.

End of the road

Athletics: Robert Korzeniowski, of Poland, won an unprecedented third Olympic 50 kilometres walk title in a row. A paltry crowd in the Olympic stadium saw the greatest walker in history cross the line in 3hr 38min 46sec. He then announced his retirement.

Brabants lets medal chance slip

Canoeing: Olympic medals proved elusive for Great Britain’s sprint canoeists on the still waters of the regatta lake at Schinias, with Tim Brabants in the K1 1,000 metres and the partnership of Ian Wynne and Paul Darby-Dowman in the K2 1,000 metres, finishing down the field.

Brabants broke the unofficial world record in his K1 qualifier, but in the final the Nottinghamshire doctor was fourth at the 250-metre mark and could make no impression on the leaders — Ben Fouhy, of New Zealand, and Eirik Larsen, the winner from Norway — trailing home in fifth place. Wynne and Darby-Dowman kept their hopes alive for longer in the K2 event, but the surge into the medal places did not come and they finished seventh. Markus Oscarsson and Henrik Nilsson, of Sweden, won the gold medal.

Athletics: Robert Korzeniowski’s long road came to an end yesterday when the Pole won an unprecedented third Olympic 50 kilometre race walk title in a row. There was barely anyone to watch his feat at a near-deserted Olympic stadium. Korzeniowski, the greatest walker in history, covered the last third of the race in hot and humid conditions on his own to cross the line in 3hr 38min 46sec. He then immediately announced his retirement.

“That’s it. That was my last step as a top-class walker,” Korzeniowski said. “It was the title I wanted the most, the one I dreamt about the most.” Denis Nizhegorodov, the exhausted world record-holder from Russia, who collapsed as he finished just over four minutes behind, won the silver medal and Aleksey Voyevodin, also from Russia, the bronze.

Gille’s tribute

Canoeing: Christian Gille, of Germany, dedicated the gold medal he won yesterday to Thomas Zereske, his former canoeing partner, who died of leukaemia in June. Gille and Tomasz Wylenzek won the men’s C2 1,000 metres after coming through in the last 100 metres to edge out Alexander Kostoglod and Alexander Kovalev, of Russia. Gille won two world titles with Zereske before they split in 2001.

Dahle prevails

Cycling: Gunn-Rita Dahle gave Norway their first Olympic cycling gold medal in 32 years yesterday when she overcome searing heat and problems with her mountain bike to win the women’s cross-country title. The 31-year-old from Stavanger, who has swept all before her this season, completed the 31.3 kilometres ride along the dusty dirt tracks of Mount Parnitha, north of Athens, in 1hr 56min 51sec.

American high

Basketball: The United States held on to beat Russia 66-62 and reach the final of the women’s event. The last time the US women lost was to the unified Russia team at the Atlanta Games in 1992, since when they have enjoyed a 22-game winning streak at the Olympics.

Greece grieved

Taekwondo: Angry protests followed another Greece defeat when Areti Athanasopoulou, the world champion, lost to Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen in the women’s featherweight first round as three judges and one referee all ruled the Thai the winner by superiority.