Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald raced admirably but finished up in seventh place in the final of the men's K-2 1000 final. Source / Brett Phibbs NZ Herald
The men's K2 1000m kayaking crew of Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald have finished seventh in their final in placid conditions on Dorney Lake.
They struggled from the start and were at the back of the field of human turbines throughout. The speed of the Hungarians, Portuguese and Germans took
hold. Hungary won in 3m 09.646s. New Zealand was a further 2.471s back.
The German crew of Martin Hollstein and Andreas Ihle were defending Olympics champions but the Hungarians Rudolf Dombi and Roland Kokeny proved too strong, holding off a charge in the final 100m. Portugal's Fernando Pimenta and Emanuel Silva claimed silver, coming within a bow of gold in lane nine. They missed by 0.055s.
"We started to push through from the middle mark but unfortunately we didn't have enough mustard at the end," Ferguson said.
The result continues Olympic disappointment for 32-year-old Ferguson who in four Games (three representing New Zealand in kayaking and one in swimming) has never made the dais despite being one of the country's supreme athletes.
