Kayakers fail to advance

By MARIBEL VILLALVA

Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece - U.S. kayaker Kathryn Colin ended her competitive career Thursday after she and partner Lauren Spalding failed to advance to the finals of the women's K-2 500m flatwater race at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

The team of Colin and Spalding, both Hawaii natives, finished seventh in their semifinals heat with a time of 1:46.78.

While the race marked an ending for the Colin, a two-time Olympian, it also symbolized the beginning for Spalding's next Olympic journey as the 24-year-old now begins training for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

``This is definitely it for me,'' the 30-year-old Colin said. ``But I see amazing things for Lauren. She struggles with being away from her family (in Hawaii), but that may be her only downfall. If she really works hard, she will do great things in kayaking.''

Colin said Thursday's race was a good one in many respects. But the American boat was just not fast enough to pass boats from Bulgaria, Sweden and Belarus. All three advanced to Saturday's finals.

None of the Americans who competed in the flatwater canoe and kayak sprint events this week at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoe Center made it past the semifinals.

Colin said the problem most American paddlers face is the lack of opportunity to race the teams from other, more powerful, countries on a regular basis.

``These other teams race each other every other weekend, but we only race them once or twice a year,'' she said.

Colin's first Olympics were the 2000 Sydney games, but said she always had her sights set on Athens.

``My first Olympics was all about the excitement. Here, I had much higher goals. Obviously, I wasn't able to achieve them, but I still had a lot of fun,'' Colin said. ``I know that I gave everything I could, so I can't be upset. There are no regrets.''