European hopefuls have successfully secured berths for semifinals or finals in the heat races of six boat classes of canoe/kayak flatwater held in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Tuesday.

In the men's kayak single (K1) 500 meter races, 27 out of the 29 paddlers have qualified for the semifinals.

Van Koeverden Adam from Canada created a new world best time by finishing the heat race with a result of one minute and 35.554 seconds. The last world best time for the event is one minute and 35.63 seconds, a result he created in Poland earlier this year.

"It was a heat and I can go faster. I am happy to hear that I have broken it. But I can definitely go faster than that," he told reporters in the mixed zone.

"I'm very happy that racing has begun because I have been here 10 days and I have seen people winning medals so I have just been wanting to get on with it," he commented on the race.

In men's canoe single (C1) 500m races, Chinese paddler Li Qiang won the second place in heat 3 and another Chinese paddler Zhong Hongyan also occupied the second place in heat 2 of the women's kayak single 500m.

"I was not calm enough when I started. I fell behind at the very beginning but I came back to my pace," Zhong Hongyan said after the race.

Jennifer Hodson from South Africa was also happy with her result.

"I'm looking forward to the semis on Thursday, hopefully you will some better races from me," she said.

In the heat races of men's canoe double (C2) 500m, defending champions Yang Wenjun and Meng Guanliang crossed the finish line first in spite of a not-good-enough start. They won the race with a 0.023 second lead.

"I can have two or three days to myself if I can go directly to finals. I feel OK. I will try to show the best of me in the final. I do not feel any pressure though I have not paddled in pair with Meng Guanliang for long," Yang Wenjun told Xinhua soon after the race.

"Generally speaking, my race is OK. But there is some error in our rhythm, but we can improve it," Meng Guanliang said.

On the other boats, he said:"Everyone has a chance to win. It depends on their performance in the race."

The last event in heat races on Tuesday's agenda is women's kayak double (K2) 500m. A total of 17 boats entered the heat races. Boats from Germany and Hungary, two European powerhouses in flatwater races, won the two heats respectively.

Flatwater races will enter semifinal stage on Wednesday. Much attention will be focused on European powers like Germany, Hungary, as well as Chinese paddlers who strive to break Western dominance.

(Xinhua News Agnecy August 19, 2008)