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Florence: Just pipped for gold
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David Florence became Britain's first slalom canoeing medallist since 1992 when he claimed an impressive silver.
The 26-year-old posted the fourth fastest semi-final time on the Shunyi white water to put himself in contention for a podium finish.
He then gave a flawless performance on the tough course to propel himself into top spot ahead of Poland's Krzystof Bieryt and Stanislav Jezek of the Czech Republic.
However, just as Florence looked set to win gold he was denied at the death, Slovakian Michal Martikan going above him in the last run of the final.
Reclaimed crown
Victory for the world number one means he reclaims the crown he won in Atlanta back in 1996, having finished second in Sydney and Athens since.
Despite the disappointment of just missing out on gold, Florence matched the achievements of Gareth Marriott at the Barcelona Games 16 years ago.
The world number five from Aberdeen had gone into the semi-finals as the third seed having recorded the fastest second heat time on Monday.
He incurred one penalty to finish with a time of 90.46seconds, just four tenths of a second behind third-placed Krzystof Bieryt of Poland.
Walsh's woe
While Florence celebrated there was disappointment for team-mate Campbell Walsh, who crashed out of the kayak slalom competition.
The European champion and Athens silver medallist endured a nightmare run and ended up finishing last in the 15-man semi-final field.
His time of 93.74 seconds meant he was 2.77 adrift of the last qualification place (10th), which was claimed by Ireland's Eoin Rheinisch.
In the end, the gold went to Germany's Alexander Grimm, with Fabien Lefevre of France taking the silver.
Togo's Benjamin Boukpeti won the bronze and promptly snapped his paddle in half as he celebrated his country's first-ever Olympic medal.
