C1 Nico Bettge wins gold

In the men's C-1 final held this afternoon, Nico Bettge of Germany came out on top to win the first gold of the current "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 Canoe/Kayak Slalom Open. After the final race, the German paddler seemed very excited about his victory. "I'm very, very happy," he said, his voice shocked with excessive emotion. "The gold medal means a lot to me."
With the best two-run totals in both the semifinals and finals Nico Bettge displayed his strength and won the title with indisputable superiority. Commenting on the course, he described it as the "best in the world." He said, "Everything here is great, and I'm very happy to win the gold medal here."
The newly-built racing course at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park has posed great challenges to the participating paddlers. In the men's K-1 heats on the opening day, Nico Bettge's teammate, Alexander Grimm, who currently ranks first in the world rankings, was unexpectedly eliminated from the semifinals. In today's semifinals, Tony Estanguet, double Olympic champion of France, had to pull out of the race due to a broken paddle. "I know the course is too difficult, especially at the turnings," said Nico Bettge. "I heard Tony's paddle was broken, and it was really bad news."
Asked what he expected from the Beijing Olympic Games, the Germany paddler said, "I have to qualify for the Games first, which should not be easy as we have too many top paddlers in our country. However, I believe I will get a chance to compete in Beijing next year."