Loccy Tames Olympic Debut to Progress to Final

Olympic debutant Lachlan Tame will paddle for gold after surging into the final of the canoe sprint K2 1000m.

NSWIS athlete Tame and teammate Ken Wallace cemented a spot in the medal race after winning the fastest of the semi-finals.

The Australian duo, who won the silver medal at last year’s world championships, had earlier made all the running in the opening round heats, dominating the first 750m and racing to a significant lead.

But they were reeled in by the world championships bronze medal winning Serbian crew, meaning they missed automatic qualification for the final and were forced to return later in the day to for the semis.

With a top three finish required, the Australians again employed the same tactics and shot to the lead from the starters gun.

They were never headed and recorded the fastest time of the two semi-finals, wining by a boat length in a time of 3mins 16secs.

The final will see the Australians again take on Germany, the team that beat them narrowly at last year’s world championships.

“Today I became an Olympian. Tomorrow I get the chance to become a champ with him (Ken Wallace),” Tame said.

Competing at her second Olympics, Naomi Flood missed out on a place in the A-Final of the women’s K1 500m after finishing sixth in her semi-final.

Flood progressed to the semis after finishing sixth in her heat, but was unable to match it with a strong field to secure a spot in the medal race.

“For me at the moment I’m exhausted; it’s my 16^th year as a full-time athlete; the elbow is breaking down on me, there are a few issues with the body, it has kind have given me the awareness that (my) time is done,” Flood told the AOC website.

“Coming off the back of London I wanted to go better, I wanted to go faster and have more of a presence.”

“Rio is where I wanted to have that presence but I (only) beat a couple of people.”