Martin Dougoud leaves the Olympic Games in Paris empty-handed. The 5th place in the kayak cross at the end of his competitions is little consolation for him.
"I believed in it, I was determined, I felt strong in the semi-final. I wanted to bring Switzerland a medal, I even dreamed about it last night," he said after winning the small final, on the verge of tears. "My family and friends are certainly proud. But I'm rarely proud of myself, that's hard."
Dougoud, who missed out on bronze in the single kayak by 0.57 seconds on August 1, wanted to get his revenge in the spectacular cross-country competition, which is part of the Olympic program for the first time. As third at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 European Championships, albeit in the time trial, his ambitions for a big win were justified.
But as spectacular as kayak cross may be, the discipline offers no guarantees due to the many contacts between the four competitors. The Frenchman by choice had to learn this bitterly on Monday afternoon. He failed to make the start in the semi-final and then had to risk everything, but without success.
"Joe (Clarke, 2nd in the final - the ed.) and Finn (Butcher, Olympic champion) are among the best, but the German (Noah Hegge, 3rd) and the Czech (Lukas Rohan, 4th) were surprisingly in the final. I should have found the solution in the semi-final." In this, Hegge and Rohan left Dougoud and Boris Neveu, the world number 3, behind them.
"That's part of the sport. I should either have started stronger or not chased Boris. But I could just as easily have been eliminated in the quarter-finals. With some distance, I would accept 5th place. But now it's really tough," he repeated with a shaky voice.
Because Alena Marx (6th) was also unable to record a success in her third competition in Paris, the wait for Swiss canoeing is getting longer. So far they have one Olympic medal to their name, albeit in regattas. In 1996, the quartet of Ingrid Harlamov, Sabine Eichenberger, Daniela Baumer and Gabi Müller won silver in the kayak slalom in Atlanta.
