After four days of fierce competition among the world's top paddlers, the 2007 Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Open concluded in Beijing on August 26. In the 12 events contested, European paddlers made a clean sweep of the 12 gold medals, while a total of 15 countries shared the medals on offer.

Europe dominates with Germany winning most golds

Germany led the European domination of the Beijing open by topping both the gold medals and medals tables with 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes. Among these 2 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze were taken in the men's events.

Hungary placed second in the medals tally with 2 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze (1 gold and 2 silvers in the women's), followed by Russia with 2 golds and 2 silvers in the men's.

Ranking fourth to seventh in medals tally were Great Britain (2 golds), Belarus (1 gold, 2 silvers and 1 bronze), France (1 gold and 2 bronzes) and Romania (1 gold).

Judging by the medal distribution, European paddlers showed overwhelming overall strength, with Germany, Hungary and Russia as its core forces.

China placed eighth in the medals tally with 1 silver and 2 bronzes, followed by Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, the United States, Slovakia, Norway and Poland.

Tim Brabants the only double winner at the Beijing Open

The biggest star in the 2007 Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Open was no one but Tim Brabants of Great Britain, winner of the 2007 World Championships, who won both the men's C-1 500m and K-1 1000m.

In the group heats held on the opening day of the tournament, Tim Brabants finished first in both events to qualify directly for the finals. Without going through the semifinals on August 24, he got a day off for tuning up for the final races. In the K-1 1000 final on August 25, he earned his first gold with a time of 3:33.882; and on the following day he added to his collection another gold in the C-1 500m to become the only double winner at the Beijing Open. As the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park is the venue for next year's Olympic Games, the two gold medals may mean a lot to the British world champion. 

China: More efforts needed in the sport

As the host team the performances of the Chinese paddlers were followed with interest by the local people. Generally speaking, they have made remarkable progress in the sport, achiving a bronze through Yu Lamei, Yang Yali, Wang Feng and Zhang Hong in the women's K-4 500m (1:37.175), a silver through Chen Zhongyun/Zhang Zhiwu in the men's C-2 1000m (0.662sec slower than the winners) and a bronze through Yang Wenjun in the men's C-1 500m. However, the host nation expects more from their paddlers for the coming Olympics.

As it is known to all, most athletes came to Beijing this time to know more about the venue for next year's Olympic Games. To those medal winners, however, achieving medals at an Olympic venue also means significantly in their future Olympic endeavors.