PARIS : Hungary’s Balint Kopasz and Adam Varga sensationally failed to make the men’s kayak double (K2) 500m final on Friday, coming fifth in their semi-final to miss the decider later in the afternoon.
With a tailwind providing some of the choppiest waters and the top four going through, the Hungarians were sitting pretty for much of the race but a late sprint by the American pairing of Jonas Ecker and Aaron Small saw them snatch the fourth and last qualification spot for the final by 0.15 seconds.
Germany’s Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke won the heat, and Hungary are still in with a chance of a medal as Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka came second in the heat ahead of the Czech Republic.
