KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - Light shone on Ben Fouhy's troubled kayaking campaign today as he surged home to qualify for the Olympic K1 1000m final.
The Athens 2004 silver medallist showed glimpses of his best form, the New Zealander powering past two rivals to finish second in his semifinal in
a time of three minutes 33.542 seconds.
The men's K2 1000m of Steven Ferguson and Mike Walker also reached Friday's final and were in such control that they deliberately manipulated the closing part of their semifinal to finish second.
They led comfortably going into the closing 100m but then slowed appreciably, targeting second place to earn a spot in lane one for the final.
Their theory is that the winds favour that side of the course.
Ferguson stopped paddling for several strokes, allowing Latvia to pass them while delicately holding China and Belgium at bay by half a second in a time of 3min 23.511sec.
By contrast Fouhy appeared in strife when he was still fourth after 750m and requiring a top-three finish to advance.
But he found another gear, accelerating past South African Shaun Rubenstein and third-placed Swede Markus Oscarsson.
Australian Ken Wallace won, 0.29sec clear of the smiling New Zealander.
"I'm a lot happier, I'm through to the final," Fouhy said.
"You can't win lotto if you don't have a ticket."
Fouhy's mood was a stark contrast to Monday when he was a picture of despair after finishing third in his heat.
He looked inward for answers, using visualisation exercises, and the rewards showed in both his performance and post-race attitude.
"I've had my tail between my legs a fair bit here, as most people know. Monday only confirmed those reservations," he said.
"I had to do a bit of soul-searching, dig pretty deep and find something.
"I raced a lot more aggressively, just really went for it and that's all I could do."
After his heat, Fouhy gave himself a 58-to-one chance of winning a medal on Friday. Those odds had now reduced to $10 in his eyes.
"It's looking a lot better."
He paid tribute to the laidback atmosphere in the New Zealand corner of the Olympic Village for his improved mental state.
He observed the relaxed manner in which athletes such as cyclist Hayden Roulston and athlete Valerie Vili went about their work.
"There's a ton of great people there, it's just bloody good," he said.
"It's nice to chat to them and get some perspective on it.
"I was pretty stressed but I worked really hard on trying to not let it get to me as much. Being in that atmosphere definitely helped distract me."
Two other New Zealand crews are in semifinals action tomorrow - K1 500m paddlers Ferguson and Erin Taylor.
- NZPA