- Clarke believes ‘disappointing finish’ in kayak singles will fuel Olympic gold medal bid
- On Monday he gets a second chance to win gold again, in the kayak cross
- Clarke won Olympic gold in the men’s K1 kayak at the 2016 Rio Games
Joe Clarke says his fifth-place finish in the kayak singles has added “coals to the fire” ahead of his second attempt at a kayak cross medal on Monday.
The K1 world champion was disappointed when he completed the last run of the final in the nautical stadium of Vaires-sur-Marne in a time of 89.82 seconds, 1.60 seconds behind Italian winner Giovanni De Gennaro.
But Clarke, who won gold in that event in Rio 2016, will get another chance to get on the podium in Paris when he competes in the new kayak cross competition, in which he is also world champion.
“Fifth place wasn’t what I came here for, but I’ve still got a shot at a medal,” said the Team GB paddler. “It’s definitely added fuel to the fire for the kayak cross later in the week.”
Clarke ran a flawless race in the K1 semi-final and qualified fastest for the final, but was caught in the rapids before gate seven, losing valuable time.
Clarke believes ‘disappointing finish’ in kayak singles will fuel Olympic gold medal bid
Clarke won Olympic gold in the men’s K1 kayak at the 2016 Rio Games
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“It was a really fast final, I didn’t do much wrong,” Clarke said. “It’s hard to punish yourself when it’s so close. I didn’t buckle under the pressure. I kept a clean run.
‘If you had run the final again, I think I would have been the winner.’
Clarke was cheered on from the stands by his one-year-old son Hugo, who wore a ‘Go Daddy’ T-shirt, and his wife Annabel in a ‘Go Joe’ top.
“I’m sure he’ll be very proud of me,” Clarke added. “He won’t have noticed the difference between first and fifth, he’ll just be happy to see me afterwards.
‘He’s got his supporters’ T-shirt on and all he does is point at the T-shirt and say, “Da, Da, Da”. If I feel bad now, I’ll walk over to him in five minutes and it’ll be fine.’