KEY POINTS:
Ben Fouhy could not replicate his medal-winning effort of four years ago, but finished content with a highly respectable fourth in his K1 1000m canoeing final last night.
And in New Zealand's second final on the Shunyi course in an hour, Steven Ferguson and Mike Walker, after being in contention for a minor medal through the first 750m, finished sixth.
It has been a rough year for the 29-year-old Fouhy. Plagued by self doubt and wondering if he would ever rediscover the touch that won him the world title in 2003 and the silver medal in the Athens Olympics a year later, he was happy after the race last night.
"To me, this is a gold medal in a way, given what I've had to overcome," he said. "I had some serious doubts and it would have been easy to give in and not even line up.
"But I felt like I gave myself the best opportunity."
The race was dominated by British paddler Tim Brabants, who added further sheen to his reputation after having won the world championship title last year.
Brabants went clear at the start and was never headed, winning in 3m 26.323s from defending Olympic champion Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway, 1.01s back. Australian Ken Wallace took third, 1.7s ahead of Fouhy, who crossed in 3:29.193.
The big shock was Canadian Adam van Kouverden, the world and Olympic K1 500m champion and 1000m bronze medallist in Athens, who was one of the favourites, but looked like he was dragging an anchor in the final 250m to finish eighth.
On a baking 30C day, Fouhy settled just off the pace early, his usual tactic.
He paddled steadily and although the gold was out of range from early on, he was briefly within a chance to get in the mix for bronze as the athletes set their sights on the finish line.
Fouhy has described his Athens final as "the hardest race of my life" when he finished behind Larsen.
Since then, it has not been easy. After a third in Monday's heats, Fouhy bemoaned his inability to find sufficient energy to be truly competitive.
In Wednesday's semifinal, there was a distinct improvement when he finished second behind Wallace.
"Physically I don't think I was the best paddler out there but mentally I've got something I can look back on and be proud of," he said. "It's such a relief."
Fouhy admitted that "many times" in the past four years he had contemplated quitting, three times this year alone. He will take time out to consider his future in the sport.
"It would be nice to have a medal ... but I'm very privileged to already have one."
Ferguson and Walker were third at the 250m mark and still a chance from lane one with the final quarter to go before being run down near the line. Germany won with a strong finish.
* Courtesy of Television New Zealand, www.tvnz.co.nz/beijing2008.
