McKeever bags kayak gold
Ed McKeever won a 26th gold medal for Great Britain in the 200m kayak sprint at Eton Dorney on Saturday morning.
Last Updated: 11/08/12 4:50pm
Ed McKeever won a 26th gold medal for Great Britain in the 200m kayak sprint at Eton Dorney on Saturday morning.
The 28-year-old from Wiltshire went into the final as one of the favourites after clocking fast times in the heats and semi-finals.
And he burst away from the gun to take an early lead which he held throughout, powering over the line ahead of Spaniard Saul Craviotto Rivero and Canadian Mark de Jonge.
There was a slight headwind on the lake which meant his winning time of 36.246 seconds was slower than both the times he recorded in yesterday's heats and semi-final.
"I was really just focused on the first two or three strokes and I wanted to nail those and get out cleanly," he said.
"Just relief. It sounds strange. Not elation, more relief and so happy I could do it in front of the home crowd - it's brilliant.
"I am just so pleased that I could do well. I was really buzzing, in the zone and wanting to do well.
"I haven't made any long term plans yet. It could still go either way. I could have a career ahead of me but I am just waiting to see how I feel after this."
Jess Walker was unable to match McKeever's effort in the women's sprint, the 22-year-old finishing seventh in the final as New Zealander Lisa Carrington took gold.
However, Great Britain did extend their medal tally to 59 at London 2012 when Liam Heath and Jon Schofield won a bronze in the men's K2 200m.
Russia's Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko took gold.
The results take Britain's medal haul in canoeing to four, achieving their pre-Games target. The medals come after Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie won gold in the canoe slalom last week, while David Florence and Richard Hounslow took silver in the same event.