Australians Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen took out bronze in a stunning three-boat photo finish in the Kayak Double 500m.

There was a swirly tail wind around the course causing slightly choppy and challenging conditions, but it wasn’t going to stop the Aussie pair.

A hot favourite going into the competition having won a medal in the 1000m in Tokyo 2020, the crew first had to qualify by finishing in the top four of their semi-final.

The final was a tight race right from the start, with the German crew of Jacob Schoph and Max Lemke taking the lead, but the Australians and the rest of the field right on their stern.  

The Aussies stayed in contention and were one of three boats to finish behind gold medalists Germany (1:26:87) in a photo finish to determine silver, bronze and fourth.

It was an anxious wait, but Tom and Jean pinched bronze (1:27:29) behind Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka of Hungry (1:27:15).  

“Winning an Olympic medal is so special. We're so stoked with that.” Jean said.

“Of course, we're gonna be a bit disappointed. We really thought we're capable of a gold medal. But I think all of the crews I think they're capable of that as well. And that's sport, it's why we absolutely love it. That's why I wake up every morning for it.”

“We'd love to come in and get the gold again. But you know we live to fight another day and are coming back home with a medal.”

The result is impressive given the crews they faced, especially given they were one of the only crews from the Tokyo games.

“We've had a lot of challenges over these last three years going from that 1000m distance and into the 500m.” Jean said.  

“We're one of the only crews that have survived from Tokyo to Paris. So we've done a lot of work around the edges to try and get a bit sharper and faster.”

Tom added: “I went up a little bit too late, so I just wasn't with Jean, and that kind of threw our rhythm out from there.”

Even with the less than perfect race, Tom and Jean had a lot to be proud of, coming away with an Olympic medal.

“I’m so grateful and thankful all the training we've done still put us in a position on the podium even when it wasn’t a great race.” Tom said.

“It's such a whole village that takes us to this moment. I'm just really happy to be a part of it and to be here,” Jean said.

Earlier in the day, Aussie women’s K2 crew of Ella Beere and Aly Bull were also out on the water for their final.

Thrilled to have qualified for the A Final and in contention for an Olympic medal, Aussie women Ella and Aly were ready for whatever the competition or weather conditions would throw at them, something that had caught a Spanish crew off guard and resulted in their capsize in the earlier women’s K2 B Final.

Starting in lane one, the Aussies gave everything they had in the race, coming in seventh behind gold medal winners New Zealand, followed by Hungry and then an incredible photo finish tie between Germany and a second Hungarian crew for bronze.

To round out their Paris campaign, Tom will be back on the water on 10 August for the men’s Kayak Single 1000m, the semi-final scheduled for 7:10pm AEST.

Words courtesy of olympics.com.au.‍

‍Image courtesy of Garry Bowden.