Heyl fifth after first day of single kayak

By MARIBEL VILLALVA

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - All it took was one good heat for American kayaker Brett Heyl to put himself in a good position for an Olympic medal.

The 22-year-old Heyl placed fifth out of 25 competitors after two heats in the preliminary competition for the men's single kayaking event that began Thursday in the Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Center at the Helliniko Sports Complex.

In his first heat, Heyl whipped through the artificial whitewater course with no mistakes and a time of 95.68 seconds. After his second heat, Heyl had a combined time of 192.29 seconds, just 5.50 behind the leader, Switzerland's Michael Kurt.

Heyl will advance to the semifinals and finals Friday. His teammate on the U.S. team, Scott Parsons, placed 14th and will advance to Friday's races.

Though excited about his first heat, Heyl wasn't as quick to give himself a pat on the back as others were.

``I had a good, solid run, but it was nothing special,'' Heyl said. ``It was good, but I could still work on getting a better time.''

A better time would make him a medal contender. The kayakers he has to beat Friday are Kurt, Campbell Walsh of Great Britain, Thomas Schmidt of Germany and Fabien Lefevre of France.

Heyl, who was born in Norwich, Vt., and now lives in Charlotte, N.C., said he will not focus on getting a medal, only having good runs at Friday's competition. But he said seeing fellow U.S. kayaker Rebecca Giddens win a silver medal in the women's single kayaking event is definitely a motivation.

``You can't help but be inspired by her win,'' Heyl said.

Heyl, who took a leave from George Washington University to focus on kayaking, has spent much of his time training for the Olympics on the Potomac River. But the Potomac is nothing like the Athens course, he said.

``The Potomac does help prepare you physically, but here, you have to rely on your instincts,'' he said.

Team leader Bill Endicott said he wasn't surprised Heyl had two good heats.

``He is immensely talented,'' Endicott said. ``He started out as the sleeper in this race, but he's coming here after having his best year training in Australia.''