London 2012: Olympic defeat is a bitter pill to swallow for doctor Tim Brabants

By Dan Mobbs
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
10:19 AM

Britain’s defending Olympic champion Tim Brabants failed to hold onto his crown in the K1 1000m canoe sprint final after finishing last at Eton Dorney.

The practising physician from Putney was well off the pace with a time of 3:34.833 - over eight seconds behind the winner Eirik Vera Larsen from Norway.

Brabants, 35, has struggled with a tendon injury since winning silver at the World Championships in 2010, and he struggled to keep up in the lane nearest to a typically enthusiastic crowd.

The doctor started well and was in medal contention after 250m, but he had no cure for his slowing tempo as a strong field including the Canadian world champion Adam van Koeverden and Germany’s two-time European champion sprinted away.

Brabants was understandably disappointed with his race, and is adamant that he will not end his career on a such a low note.

“I was pretty much outclassed in that race,” he said. “I feel bad, there was lots of British support, I was hoping I was going to get there.

“This morning I felt good, I felt like I could be Olympic champion again, so I’m sorry. It’s been a fantastic build-up to these Games seeing how well we’ve done, Sir Chris Hoy motivates me so much, I wanted to add another medal.

“I felt like I wasn’t in it from the start but there were better athletes on the day. I’m not done yet, you can’t go out with an eighth place at the Olympics.”