Tokyo Olympics 2020: Australians win gold in men’s K-2 1000m final
Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen are the toast of Tokyo after they pulled off one of the biggest stings in world sprint canoeing with their shock K2 1000m victory.
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They came into the Olympic Games as unknown best mates and will leave it with gold medal acclaim.
Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen are the toast of Tokyo after they pulled off one of the biggest stings in world sprint canoeing with their shock K2 1000m victory.
The 22-year-old rising stars of paddling surprised themselves and their international rivals, who had never seen them race before by winning a gold medal in just their third ever international K2 1000m.
And after the win the pair revealed the simple words that spurred them on to greatness.
“I looked back at Tom and I said ‘lets go have fun man’ and he kind of smiled and chuckled. That’s what I just love about us — that we are kind of relaxed and try to enjoy it,” van der Westhuyzen said.
“We had a chat before hand and we were like, ‘we are going to put each other in hospital, we are going to go so hard for that line’.’’
And they did, big smiles replacing the grimaces of pain as they neared the finish, then joyously jumping into the water in celebration.
The pair met as 18-year-old and instantly clicked, on and off the water.
Van der Westhuyzen came to Australia from South Africa in 2018 for his paddling and to do a business degree.
“I came over here at the beginning of 2018 and Tommy was part of the squad and I guess we were the two youngest guys so we just naturally stuck together,’’ said the new world champion who started kayaking in Year 2.
“This guy is one of my best mates, we hang out outside of kayaking and I think that really helps.
“Rooming together has been really relaxed, it hasn’t been a tense or hectic environment.
“We keep it fun, we work hard, we push hard and we just wanted to come here and enjoy the event.’’
The pair said another secret to their success is the way they push each other.
“We always keep each other honest,’’ Green said.
Green, who fundraised with his mother Meredith, a retired police officer, to pay for an airline ticket to his first major event as a junior paddler, said there will only be one moment that matches having the gold round the neck for the first time.
“I can’t wait to hang it round my mother’s neck,’’ he said.
“We have both worked hard for it. She seriously left no stone unturned and she has really made me into who I am today, I am so grateful for that, because I could not have done that without her or my siblings.’’
German favourites Max Hoff and Jacob Schopf won silver and the Czech team of Josef Dostal and Radek Slouf won bronze.
Competing for a gold medal in your Olympic debut is nerve-racking enough, but van der Westhuyzen had the added pressure of competing against one of his idols.
The 22-year-old confessed he was a huge fan of the man closest to beating him in Tokyo, world champion Hoff.
“I grew up watching that guy … he was actually my screen saver on my phone when I was younger so I actually used to really look up to him,” he said.
When quizzed whether Hoff was still on his phone he laughed.
“No, it’s my beautiful girlfriend.’’
The new gold medallists have already committed to campaigning for Paris 2024.
Earlier Central Coast paddler Riley Fitzsimmons and Queenslander Jordan Wood were shattered by their performance in the semi-final.
The pair, drawn in the same heat as Green and van der Westhuyzen, looked the goods until the halfway mark of their semi-final but faded to last.
The pair were inconsolable on the dock.
But with their K4 heats starting Friday the pair were quick to regroup to prepare for their next event at Sea Forest Waterway.
Smooth water ahead as paddlers set bearings for golden era
KAYAKING great Ken Wallace is predicting a “golden future’’ for the sport after two of the youngest paddlers at the Olympics raced off with one of the biggest prizes.
Wallace said the performance of Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen in winning the K2 1000m was one of the most outstanding feats he has seen in recent times.
The Gold Coast pair had never raced a K2 international event before Wednesday’s heats and just a day later claimed gold on Olympic debut.
“This is only the start, this is only the beginning of the road for them,’’ said Wallace, the only men to win two medals at the one Olympics with his gold and bronze in Beijing in 2008.
“They are only 22. They have such longevity in this sport. We will be seeing them on podiums for a long time. They are very capable of standing on the podium together again in Paris.
“They are the next generation and they are taking the world by storm.”
The best mates from the Gold Coast held hands as they stepped up on the podium together, presenting each other with their medals before a huge hug. They then jumped into the water in celebration, with Wallace joining in the festivities.
“This is a pretty special moment to stand on a podium with your best mate,” Green said, holding his medal. “It’s pretty heavy, too.”
Green said not performing to expectations in the K1 on Tuesday was a motivator for the gold medal “As much as it’s disappointing, it helped a lot with today,” he said.
“We learnt a lot and it just helped us better prepare. It gave us that bit of hunger, it was like salt in the wound. This makes the gold so much sweeter.’’
Racing continues on Friday at Sea Forest Waterway with the K4 competition. Aussies Jordan Wood, Riley Fitzsimmons, Lachlan Tame and Murray Stewart will take part.
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