Australian paddlers Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen have stunned their seasoned rivals to win Olympic gold in the K2 1000 metres canoe sprint.
The 22-year-olds had never competed internationally together before but they followed up their Olympic record in the heats by winning the final from German world champions Max Hoff and Jacob Schopf in Tokyo on Thursday.
It’s Australia’s first gold in the event, topping the Rio bronze won by triple medallist Ken Wallace and Lachlan Tame.
The pair got off to a flying start and led for the entire race, just managing to hold off the charging German pair with the Czech Republic’s Radek Slouf and Josef Dostal taking bronze
The Australians crossed in three minutes 15.280 seconds, just 0.304 clear of Germany.
Green and van der Westhuyzen had surprised themselves by posting an Olympic record in their heat.
Only recently emerged from junior ranks and with international racing curtailed for the past two years by COVID-19, they said after that race they weren’t sure how they would stack up.
The pair are based in Queensland, with Cape Town-born van der Westhuyzen moving from South Africa to Australia in 2018 to pursue his sprint canoe career.
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AAP
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