BARCELONA '92 OLYMPICS / DAY 14 : DAILY REPORT : CANOE / KAYAK : Bellingham Finishes Fourth in Men's 500-Meter Singles

L.A. Times Archives

Aug. 8, 1992 12 AM PT

Norman Bellingham of Washington, D.C., failed to medal in Olympic canoeing Friday and then watched as Mikko Kolehmainen of Finland, his friend and training partner, won the gold.

Bellingham was fourth in the men’s 500-meter singles kayak race. He has another chance for gold when he and Greg Barton of Bellingham, Wash., who also trains in Newport Beach, will defend their 1988 Olympic gold medal when the double kayak 1,000 finals are held today.

The United States also finished a distant eighth in the double kayak 500. The team of Michael Harbold and Peter Newton, both of Honolulu, was far behind the winning German pair of Kay Bluhm and Torsten Rene Gutsche, who were timed in 1 minute 28.27 seconds.

Poland got the silver in 1:29.84. Italy won the bronze in 1:30. The U.S. pair’s time was 1:33.02.

Kolehmainen won the men’s 500 singles in 1:40.34. Zsolt Gyulay of Hungary was 0.3 of a second back and earned the silver. Knut Holmann of Norway won the bronze in 1:40.71.

Bellingham’s time was 1:40.84.

Birgit Schmidt of Germany won the women’s 500 single kayak race in 1:51.60, with Rita Koban of Hungary getting the silver in 1:51.96 and Izabella Dylewska of Poland the bronze in 1:52.36.

Ramona Portwich and Anke Von Seck of Germany won the women’s 500 double kayak race in 1:40.29.

In the 500-meter canoe events, Bulgaria’s Nikolai Boukhalov won the single in 1:51.15 over Mikhail Slivinski of the Commonwealth of Independent States, who was timed in 1:51.40. Olaf Heukrodt of Germany was third in 1:53 flat.

In doubles, Alexander Masseikov and Dmitri Dovgalenok of the CIS won the gold in 1:41.54. Germany was second in 1:41.68, Bulgaria third in 1:41.94.

EQUESTRIAN

Three U.S. Riders Qualify in Individual Show Jumping

Three U.S. riders qualified for Sunday’s finals in the individual show-jumping competition.

Norman Dello Joio of West Palm Beach, Fla., rode Irish to 22nd place in the qualifying round, making him the third American to advance to the finals.

Michael Matz and Lisa Jacquin, both of Collegeville, Pa., withdrew from the competition knowing they had enough points to qualify among the 44 riders who advanced to the finals.

All riders enter the finals with equal standing.

Matz is considered a threat for a medal. Other favorites include Jos Lansink of the Netherlands, Thomas Fruhmann of Austria and John Whitaker of Britain.

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

Lovell, Levinson Fall Short

Jenifer Lovell and Tamara Levinson of the United States failed to qualify for the finals in Olympic rhythmic gymnastics.

Lovell, of Coral Gables, Fla., finished 23rd with a total of 36.125 points. Levinson, of Silver Spring, Md., in her first international competition, was 40th.

The top 12 all-around scores and the top 12 in each event qualify for the finals. Medals are awarded only to the top three all-around finishers.

Alexandra Timoshenko of the CIS led qualifiers with 38.975 points. Teammate Oksana Skaldina was second with 38.525.

TEAM HANDBALL

Sweden, CIS to Play for Gold

Two of the three favorites in men’s team handball advanced to today’s medal games.

Sweden and the CIS, both of which had been expected to challenge for a gold medal, will meet for the championship, while France and Iceland will battle for the bronze. Spain, which was favored to win the competition, could do no better than fifth place.

Sweden enters the gold-medal game with a 5-0 record, as does the CIS. Iceland, which competed in the same bracket as Sweden, finished with a 3-1-1 mark. France has a 4-1-0 record.

MEDALISTS

* CANOE-KAYAK

(Men’s Canoe 500 Singles)

GOLD: Nikolai Petkov Boukhalov (Bulgaria)

SILVER: Mikhail Slivinski (CIS)

BRONZE: Olaf Heukrodt (Germany)

(Men’s Kayak 500 Singles)

GOLD: Mikko Yrjoe Kolehmainen (Finland)

SILVER: Zsolt Gyulay (Hungary)

BRONZE: Knut Holmann (Norway)

(Men’s Canoe 500 Doubles)

GOLD: CIS (Alexander Masseikov, Dmitri Dovgalenok)