- The Spaniard had the best time in the K1 final (86.87) but a touch at gate 19 meant that the two-second penalty kept Echaniz away from the gold.
- This medal is the fourth for Spain in the Slalom category at the Olympic Games after Maialen Chourraut’s three and is the first in the men’s category. It also means that Spain has been on the podium in this modality in the last four editions of the Games.
Pau Echaniz rang the bell and became the first man to win a medal in the Slalom K1 event for Spanish canoeing at the Olympic Games. The paddler managed to reach the final after, in the semi-final round, he marked the last time that gave access to fight for the medals with a record of 96.11 seconds, far from the best mark achieved by the British Joseph Clarke (89.51).
Being one of the top 12the handicap was that he was going to be the first to make the final descent. His The descent was magical, masterful in almost every aspect, But at gate 19, a light touch with the upper part of his right shoulder meant that two second penalty, which ultimately resulted in the Spanish anthem not being played at the Vaires-sur-Marne venue, where all the canoeing events are taking place at the Paris 2024 Games.
They are The finishing time in the final, without penalty, was 86.87 seconds, the best of the day, a time that none of the 11 finalists could beat. Without the touch, it would have been gold, with more than a second difference with respect to the second. However, Pau saw how all his competitors were going down and not beating his time. It was the Italian Giovanni de Gennarothe fact that lowered its mark with a time of 88,22tan only 65 tenths better than the Spanish one. Behind the transalpine, no one could get close and only the Frenchman Titouan Castryck, who qualified for the final with the third best time in the semi-final, He was able to sneak in between the Italian and the Spaniard to win the silver medal with a time of 88.42 seconds, just 45 tenths better than Pau.
But for Spanish canoeing, and for Pau Echaniz himself, This medal tastes like gold. First, because At just 23 years old, this is his best individual result in the senior Slalom category.second, because It is the first medal that a man has won in this modality for our country. (Maialen Chourraut is the only Spanish medalist with three medals) and third, because This medal follows on from those won by Lasarte in the Olympic Games, and is now four consecutive editions. (London 2012, bronze, Rio 2016, gold and Tokyo 2020, silver and now Paris 2024, bronze) in which Spain manages to have a medalist in this complicated modality, which shows that the work behind all the paddlers pays off in international competitions.
