Would-be astronaut Florence rockets through rapids to claim canoe silver

SCOTLAND produced its first medal for Team GB at the Olympic Games in Beijing when David Florence produced a stunning final run to win silver in the canoe slalom.

Florence, a physics graduate, recently applied to become an astronaut and was so keen to get on the course that he lied about speaking Russian on the application form.

He never made it onto the European space programme – much to his mother's relief – but he did succeed in reaching the Olympic podium after a dramatic day for Britain on the Shunyi rapids.

Florence, in fourth place heading into the final at the canoeing venue on the Chaobai River, produced a penalty-free final run and was only denied gold when minutes later Slovakian world No 1 Michal Martikan, the 1996 Olympic champion, stole top spot with the last run of the final.

But Florence was delighted to have won silver. "I have got an Olympic medal. I am absolutely delighted. It has been a long, long time coming and it means everything to me," he said. "I would have loved the gold but I ended up with silver and a medal is what I have been after.

"I put in a good final run there and in the pressure of a big final, it is the most exciting time to do it. I hoped it was a better run than the others. It was in some cases but not in Martikan's case. He had a great run and well done to him."

Florence's parents George, a former Scottish champion, and Jill were cheering him on from the stands.

Ten years ago, Florence capsized in his first competitive slalom race – but he never gave up. It is a trait which has carried him on to an Olympic podium. Florence was born in Aberdeen and moved to Edinburgh as a child where his family introduced him to canoeing and he became a member of Forth Canoe Club. He went to university in Nottingham, where he now lives, but counts the club as his base. David Cuthill, treasurer of FCC. said: "It is really well deserved. David Florence is a fantastic full time professional athlete. It's brilliant for us, brilliant for Scottish canoeing and brilliant for British canoeing."

But it was not such a happy day for Florence's room-mate and fellow Scot Campbell Walsh, who crashed out of the kayaking competition with a nightmare semi-final run. The European champion was considered a strong medal contender but made a key mistake in missing the sixth gate, which he had to go back to complete, and it cost him heavily. "It is frustrating because these opportunities don't come around very often," said Walsh.

Great Britain also claimed a bronze medal double in the equestrian arena. Tina Cook won an individual bronze in Hong Kong, capping a fairytale night for the 37-year-old from Sussex after she had earlier helped Britain claim bronze in team eventing.

Having started the individual final tied for sixth Cook, on Miners Frolic, jumped a clear round for the second time to move into the medal positions.