KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - Fourth was as good as gold for New Zealand kayaker Ben Fouhy who held his nerve today in the K1 1000m final for what he will cherish as a personal triumph.
Fouhy couldn't uncover the form that carried him to a silver medal at the Athens Olympics four years ago, failing to match the devastating pace of British winner Tim Brabants.
However, he raced consistently, producing easily his best race of a vexed campaign in three minutes 29.123 seconds.
While rarely threatening for a medal - he finished more than a second and a half behind Australian bronze medallist Ken Wallace - Fouhy displayed good speed from the start and a determination to stay on the pace that had been missing this week.
His happiness today was a stark contrast to his reaction at Athens, when he was favoured by many to win.
"This feels like a gold to me, given what I've had to overcome," he said.
"I wouldn't have said that before and I might wake up tomorrow and change my mind and be all grumpy.
"Physically I wasn't at my best but mentally I've got something to look back on and feel proud about."
It brings to an end a campaign in which Fouhy often voiced doubts about his form, the culmination of a frustrating two years in which hard training hasn't equated into fast racing.
Fouhy was sluggish in his heats, prompting him to cite odds of $58 for himself to win a medal.
He improved in his semifinal, with those odds reducing to $10.
"I had some serious doubts, it's so easy just to want to give in and not even line up," Fouhy said.
"Three times this year I was so close to quitting.
"It's going to be difficult for people to understand, they'll probably laugh at it, but for me I feel grateful for what I've got."
Fouhy's third 250m was the fastest in the field as he threatened to launch a late attack for gold but Brabants was too far clear while second-placed defending champion Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway and Wallace both finished strongly. Brabants led from the outset and won in a very quick 3min 26.323sec.
"I was thinking I could sneak a gold, you have to. But I wasn't really looking, I didn't want to look," Fouhy said.
"I just wanted to make sure I finished the race and put as much physically into it as I was able to.
"It would have been nice to have a medal but I'm very privileged to already have one. There are some insanely capable and driven athletes who don't even make the final."
Fouhy, 29, was uncertain whether to stick with the sport but a decent break from training was definitely the next step.
The biggest surprise today was a colossal mid-race slump by Canadian favourite Adam van Koeverden, who challenged Brabants for the lead through the first half but dropped alarmingly to place eighth.
"Adam is a legend, he's been beaten in two World Cup races since the last Olympics," Fouhy said.
"He's a very, very well respected athlete. That shows how difficult it is and I feel proud of what I was able to achieve.
"I felt I gave myself the best opportunity. My mental focus throughout the race, it felt like an accumulation of all my years of training experiences and setbacks. I feel like I was able to roll it all into this one race."
- NZPA
* Courtesy of Television New Zealand, www.tvnz.co.nz/beijing2008.
