Tokyo (AFP)

After a very good semi-final, Manon Hostens and Sarah Guyot had to settle for 7th place in the final of the 500m two-seater kayak (K2) event at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, won by the New Zealanders.

New Zealander Lisa Carrington, who rowed with her compatriot Caitlin Regal, had just been crowned Olympic champion in the single-seater kayak (K1) over 200m, barely an hour earlier.

Poles Karolina Naja and Anna Pulawska finished second, and Hungarians Danuta Kozak and Dora Bodonyi third.

The two Frenchwomen, 2018 European champions in the discipline, expressed a bit of "frustration" and "disappointment" after the race, especially since they had placed 3rd in their semi-final at the Sea Forest Waterway, a channel between two man-made islands in Tokyo Bay.

"Today, there were two sensations", summarizes Sarah Guyot.

There was "the great feeling of the semi-final, where we were really in the game and where we were really satisfied, and the final where we are completely the opposite and really, we do not know what is going on. passed, we do not understand, "admits the 30-year-old Vannetaise.

"There were small things to rectify compared to the half, but the bases were really solid, we managed to start well", continues Manon Hostens.

"We wanted to, we were freed, we managed to find each other well, to slide well," said the 27-year-old Périgourdine.

"What we had really worked on was the race train and the commitment to the middle of the race. On the series and the half, we had done well. There, we did the same thing, but we was a step behind, we do not really know what happened, "she admits.

The competition continues for the two teammates, who will also compete in the K4 500m on Friday, with Léa Jamelot and Vanina Paoletti.

"There are still races, we are going to take stock, digest and start again", announces Manon Hostens.

For the men, Etienne Hubert finished 7th in the single-seater kayak (K1) 1000m classification final, after missing the qualification by finishing 6th in his half.

The final was won by the Hungarian Balint Kopasz.

© 2021 AFP