KEY POINTS:
After an unhappy first Olympics, Luuka Jones is looking forward to four years' time in London.
The New Zealand whitewater paddler tailed home the 21-strong women's K1 field at the impressive man-made Shunyi course.
A 50-point penalty on Jones' first run sank her hopes of qualifying in the top-15 for the semi-finals, and despite an improved time on her second run she finished last on 272.36 points.
English-based Jones, 19, qualified for Beijing at the last minute through European World Cup events, thereby becoming New Zealand's first slalom Olympian.
She will now put all her efforts into becoming a force in 2012, after she shifts home to train in December.
"It's been an amazing experience, it's really inspired me to go out and work really hard in these next four years and try to qualify for the London Olympics and put down a really good result there," she said.
"I'm just going to hammer it for the next four years."
Jones, of Tauranga, was philosophical after her blunder on gate 18 of the 21-gate course, dwarfed by a 3000-capacity grandstand which was near full.
She only got half her body through the gate, thereby earning the instant penalty which reduced her from 15th to 20th at the halfway stage.
While she went slightly faster on her second run, she was passed by the Andorran paddler to drop to last.
"It was just one of those things, in canoe slalom if you're a bit off line in one gate then you're punished for it in the next. I just missed the line and just missed the gate. If I'd not missed it I'd have been through [to the semis], but a lot of paddlers today can say that as well."
Coached by British paddler Tim Baillie, Jones said she felt "overwhelmed" by her first Olympic experience and admitted it was difficult not to get caught up in the moment and lose some focus.
She hadn't met any of her 181 Games teammates before Beijing but planned to support them in as many sports as possible in coming days. Jones will train in New Zealand thois summer as the buildup to London begins.
- NZPA
