Collated Quotes from Men's C1 Final

Australian Canoeing Media Services, Saturday, 1 October 2005

Robin Bell (AUS) - 1st Place
On winning:
"It feels fantastic. I'm overwhelmed."

"All my friends started jumping in the river and that's when I realised I'd won."

On what his win could mean for Canoe Slalom in Australia:
"Hopefully we get some media attention for it."

On his run:
"It was a lot better to plan than the first run. I saw Tony Estanguet's time flash up before I went so I knew what I had to beat. I knew I had to have a good run."

On his performance in Athens:
" I was a bit disappointed after Athens. I had a break and came back wanting to push myself harder, to win medals not just for me, but for Australia."

" I've known I can match it with those guys for ages. It's just a matter of pulling it off on the day."

Tony Estanguet (FRA) - 2nd Place
On his final run and Robin Bell (winner):
"It was a little bit difficult. I'm a little bit disappointed to finish just a few tenths of a second off the top of the podium, but Robin (Bell) is a super competitor and I congratulate him."

"It's true that it's a bit hard to win when you are not racing at home with the supporters behind you, but Robin did a fantastic job. He has not had a lot of luck lately so it's great for him to win today."

"I was a little bit disappointed with my run, I made a couple of big errors. But that's the nature of the competition. You have to take risks, and Robin took some risks as well and managed to win. He is a super competitor."

Michal Martikan (SVK) - 3rd Place
On his performance in the race:
"I'm happy that I got the next medal to the World Championships. But today was very close to get the gold one, so I'm not 100 per cent happy."

"In the last run there were a couple of small mistakes, with a touch at the last gate where I lost a second. But it was possible for me to win with the penalty."

Jan Benzien (GER) - 4th Place
On his final run:
"It was a very good run, but then I touched the last gate. I had a really good run. I liked the course, it was my best run. I was second in the world once so I'd like more than to be just in the final."

Kynan Maley (AUS) - 7th Place
On his performance:
"I'm very happy with how I did considering my level of fitness and my injury that I just came back from. If I can move up a few places I'll be pleased. I'm guaranteed at least ninth!"

On coming back from injury:
"I'm just stoked to be here. I was convinced I would be on the couch watching the tournament!"

Stanislav Jezek (CZE) - 10th Place
On how he felt about the race:
"A little bit tired because it was my second run for the day."
"The result was made doubly as bad because it was the World Championships."