August 24 saw semifinals of the “Good Luck Beijing" 2007 Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Open contested in eight events. In the men's C-1 500m, Czech kayakist Jiri Heller placed third to advance to the final.

Getting out of his racing boat, Heller was still out of breath. "I'm so tired. The race was strenuous, plus the weather was hot, which made it more difficult." Heller said the temperature here was much higher than that in his country and it more or less affected his performance. "However," he added, "the racing course and environment here are indeed excellent."

Heller usually competes in the C-2 event. But this time he participated in the men's C-1 500m as his partner hasn't come. "I came here to get used to the venue as much as possible and I'll tell my partner about it when I get home," he added.

Although he qualified as the ninth-place finisher, Heller was confident of achieving a good result in the finals. However, he is quite aware that such opponents should never be underestimated as Dittmer from Germany and Yang Wenjun from China who are both
gold medal winners at the 2004 Olympic Games.