Brabants storms to blue-ribbon gold

By Kate Holton

BEIJING (Reuters) - Tim Brabants won Britain's first Olympic canoeing gold medal on Friday in the men's blue-ribbon 1,000 meter kayak single to add to his world and European titles.

Brabants, who took bronze at Sydney in the event and finished fifth at Athens, had a fast start and was pushed hard by Canada's Adam van Koeverden for much of the race.

But he started to pull away from the field before half way, leaving van Koeverden to drop back. Norway's Athens champion Eirik Veraas Larsen took silver in a photo finish with Australia's Ken Wallace.

Brabants jumped onto the podium to accept his medal, cheered by the British fans and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"No one was going to touch me today, I felt fantastic," Brabants told reporters on the side of the lake, still dripping with sweat and water. "I went into the race knowing I was the strongest paddler.

"I had an excellent start and I knew from that moment no one is going to go past me."

'FANTASTIC SHAPE'

When asked whether he could repeat the win in Saturday's shorter 500 meter final, he replied: "That's the idea.

"It's not my strongest event but I'm in fantastic shape. London (2012 Olympics) is definitely on the cards now."

Brabants had spoken earlier in the week about feeling the need to win for Britain to keep them in third position in the overall medal table.

Canada's van Koeverden, who won bronze in Athens, faded to eighth. He will start as favorite for the shorter title.

Australia's Wallace showed his colors earlier this week to win his semi-final ahead of a tough field and has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Australia's 1992 K1 1000 Olympic champion Clint Robinson.

Wallace, a lifeguard, thanked his employers for giving him the time off to compete.

"I just want to thank the council for giving me the time off work," he said. "I can't wait to get back on the beach."

(Additional reporting by Balazs Koranyi)

(Editing by Jon Bramley)