Summer Olympics 2000 Three U.S. kayakers make 500 semis

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Tuesday, September 26
Three U.S. kayakers make 500 semis
Associated Press

PENRITH, Australia -- Kayaker Stein Jorgensen had to be on the water anyway. So, he figured he might as well be racing.

Rather than force his way through a cold, rainy, early morning practice, Jorgensen competed a few hours later in a first-round heat of the Olympic men's 500-meter solo kayak Wednesday and advanced to the semifinals.

Jorgensen, of San Diego, only had to be in the top six of the eight boats in his race to move on. He did so easily by finishing fourth.

"I'm not doing this race looking to medal," said Jorgensen, who began paddling nine years ago at age 29. "I just want to go out and pull hard and get a race in every day. This is more fun than doing a workout.

"I'm hoping for a good showing in the semis and if I do really well, then I'll get a spot in the finals. My priority is the K-4."

The K-4 is the United States' best hope for a medal. The squad finished third in an opening heat Tuesday to earn a spot in the finals Saturday (Friday night U.S. time).

Of the quad, only John Mooney went through a lonely, boring practice early Wednesday. The other two K-4 members, Angel Perez and Peter Newton, raced in the 500-meter K-2 and finished fourth to make the semifinals.

"I think we can get to the finals and make something happen," Newton said. "It's also good to get another start and get more comfortable racing."

Also Wednesday, Kathy Colin did double duty, advancing in the women's solo kayak event and the K-2 with Tamara Jenkins. Jordan Malloch wasn't as successful, finishing last in his 500-meter canoe race after being dropped from the 1,000-meter event Tuesday.

So after two days of heats, the scorecard for the eight U.S. entries is: one in the finals, four in the semis and three eliminated. None of the American boats will race in the six semifinals Thursday.

Birgit Fischer has been successful in her quest to become Germany's top Olympic gold medalist as she advanced to her second final in as many days. Fischer has eight medals, five of them gold. A sixth would tie her nation's record.

Jorgensen was competing in outrigger canoes when a member of another team suggested he try competing in the sprints. The guy was a pretty good judge of talent because he was the U.S. women's coach at the time.

"He kept bugging me about it, so I tried it," said Jorgensen, of San Diego. "I haven't been doing much outrigger since then."

Jorgensen was among the nation's best kayak sprinters by his second year, 1993. In 1995, he won a world championship in the 200-meter K-2 with Mooney, then competed in the K-2 and K-4 at the Atlanta Olympics. Neither boat made the finals.

Jorgensen said there are 18-year-olds who have been paddling longer than he has. Because of his inexperience, he prefers the team events. That way the balance he lacks is overcome by the muscle he provides.

He jokes that his strength isn't the only reason he sits in the first seat on the four-man boat.

"They put the best-looking guy in front," he said, smiling. "Two of the guys don't have any hair and the other guy doesn't care how his looks."

Colin and Jenkins were pleased to finish fourth in their heat because of the caliber of their competition.

"We had the Olympic champion and the world champion in our race," said Jenkins, a Seattle native who lives in San Diego. "It was great."

Despite his poor finishes, Malloch is excited to have been in Sydney. He was invited a month before when other countries bailed out of canoe events, opening a spot for the United States.

"Yesterday and today were the fastest I've ever done," said Malloch, of Seattle. "I just need more experience. I want to get up there. In the next four years, I'm going to do a lot of hard training to get to this level."

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