C1 slalom Olympic final: Eichfeld 7th

U.S. racer Casey Eichfeld and nine other paddlers made the final today in the Olympic slalom C1 class.  Eichfeld was the first on the course in the final round and laid down a good solid run, but two gate-touch penalties left the door open for six competitors to better his score.  Here are the results:

Congratulations to the three medalists.  While C1 Olympic medals are nothing new for the French and Slovakian teams, this is the first-ever medal in whitewater slalom for a Japanese racer.

It would have been nice if Casey Eichfeld had followed up his almost-world championship last year (he ended up fourth after committing a time error near the bottom of the course) with an Olympic medal this year, but anything can happen in an Olympic final.  Simply making the final has been a tall order for the U.S. team in recent Olympic slaloms, and I hope the other U.S. racers will be inspired to achieve the standard that Casey has set in Rio.