German paddlers claimed the men's kayak double (K2) 1,000m title at the Beijing Olympics in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Friday.

They finished the race with a winning result of three minutes and 11.809 seconds, followed by paddlers from Denmark ( 3:13.580) and Italy (3:14.750).

The German crew finished the race the sixth at Athens four years ago. The world best time for the event is 3:09.190, created by Italian paddlers at Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

"Combination between us is quite good today. It's a hard race from the beginning to the end. I think at least six boats have the ability to win. But luckily, we were the first to hit the finish line," German paddler Andreas Ihle told Xinhua in the mixed zone.

His partner also said that the race was great.

"Super! What else can I say," Martin Hollsten said. "I should say I don't know why we played so harmoniously today. But we made it."

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)