10/08/2024 15:48hs. Updated on 10/08/2024 15:53hs.
Augustin Vernice continues to make history. Perhaps, now, he is chewing on his anger for having been one step away from the podium and, consequently, from winning his first medal in a Olympic GameHowever, the performance of the 29-year-old from Bahía Blanca will remain etched in memory – at least – for four more calendars. He achieved a fourth place in the K1 1000 canoeing with a time of 3m28s10, a fact that allows him to be the Argentine paddler with the best result in an event of this magnitude. In addition, he surpassed his eighth place achieved in Tokyo 2020.
Vernice had a different strategy to the one he applied in the semi-final: this time he decided not to go all out in the first half of the race, but rather he saved his physical strength to gain ground in the last 500 metres. However, never managed to get close to the podium, since the difference between the leaders had been so great that the slight drop in the pace of the first – except for the Portuguese Pimenta who collapsed at the end – was not enough for him to scratch out the last step of the podium.
Vernice had a good race. (EFE)
Pan American champion in the event in Lima 2019 and Santiago 2023 and South American in Asunción 2022, he emerged as the best on the continent and Now he has also shown once again that he is ready to battle the best in the world. However, on a day of competition with a double race, it is difficult to compete on equal terms against the Hungarians, the great specialists in canoeing, and the Czechs. More than anything because the first three in the final saved their strength in their semi-final heats and applied an extra gear in the final. So much so that Josef Dostal won with a time of 3m24s07 (four seconds faster than the representative of Estudiantes de Olavarría), while he was closely followed by Adam Varga (3m24s76) and Balint Kopasz (3m25s68).
On the other hand, The Argentine’s final position was verified by the famous photo finishas his boat crossed the finish line at the same time as Russia’s Uladzislau Kravets, who was the fastest in the decisive 250 metres of the race. In the end, both shared the same place.
Vernice’s word
“There are a lot of things: it’s a dream come true. In 2008, when I started the sport, I watched videos of Javier Correa, who was 5th in Sydney 2000, and now here I am,” he said in a chat with Public TV. He added: “It’s crazy and one doesn’t realize the dimension.It was a very hard road, there were no setbacks, but it was a lot of sacrifice. I have been away from home for four months, when I returned to Argentina I was always focused, thinking that when I was at the starting line I would give it my all. There are two races, one with myself and I won that one because I gave everything and more: many Sundays away from the familyas the Sole song says. And the other one with the rest of the athletes.”
“The fact that my family was in the stands is everything. As for the strategy, I was thinking about a safe test or encouraging myself to go for a little more. And in the semi-final I went out aggressively and when I saw more of the stands, my family helped me to go for more and gave me more strength. And in the final that happened to me from minute 1. I was tired, but here we are with this result.“, Vernice concluded.
Great performance by the Argentine paddler. (Reuters)
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