The Olympic canoe/kayak slalom competition will start on Aug. 11 and end on Aug. 14 in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. The racing includes four events, men's canoe single (C1), men's kayak single (K1), men's canoe double (C2) and women's kayak single (K1).

The first day of the four-day competition will feature heats for the men's C1 and K1. Each competitor has two heat runs each. Twelve paddlers will advance to the semifinals in the C1 and 15 in the K1.

The competition between the strong favorites Tony Estanguet of France and Michal Martikan of Slovakia will be the highlight of the racing.

Estanguet beat Martikan to second place both in Sydney and Athens Games and is aiming for his third Olympic gold. Martikan, world champion in 2007 and European champion in 2008, won the Olympic title in 1996 at the age of 17.

Martikan skipped the world cups this year in a bid to show his best shape at Beijing Olympics. "It was not possible to go to the World Cup and prepare for Beijing Olympics at the same time for me. So I chose to prepare for the Games," the Slovak athlete told Xinhua in a pre-Games training.

Robin Bell of Australia is their strongest rival. He claimed a world cup title early this year in Augsburg, Germany, taking him to first place in the 2008 World Cup rankings.

German Jan Benzien and British David Florence are also among the favorites for a medal.

Fabien Lefevre of France is the favorite for the men's K1 title after he won the world cup title in Prague this year.

Campbell Walsh, silver medalist in Athens Games and reigning European champion, is another main contender for the gold. He won bronzes in world championships in 2006 and 2007.

Peter Kauzer of Slovenia is also expected to stand on the podium after winning the pre-Games world cup in Tacen of his home country.

Among the major medal contenders are also world number seven kayaker Daniele Molmenti of Italy and Scott Parsons of the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)