Alexander Grimm of Germany paddles during the men's kayak(K1) final of Olympic canoe/kayak slalom competition, in the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. Grimm claimed the title in this event.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia and Germany took the Olympic canoeing slalom C1 and K1 titles respectively on Tuesday in Beijing, extending Europeans' domination in the white water canoeing events.

Gold medalist Michal Martikan (R) receives congratulations after winning the men's canoe single (C1) final of Olympic canoe/kayak slalom competition, in the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Michal Martikan of Slovakia regained the C1 title, 12 years after he won the C1 gold in Atlanta when he was only 17. Alexander Grimm of Germany won the K1 gold. Both were the first gold medals for the their countries at the Beijing Games.

    In the C1 event, David Florence of Britain took silver and Robin Bell of Australia bronze. In the K1, Fabien Lefevre of France won the silver and Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo grabbed the bronze, the first ever Olympic medal for the western African country.

    Chinese canoeist Feng Liming finished 11th among 12 athletes in the semifinal and failed to be among the top 8 to earn him a slot in the final.

    The duel between Martikan and his archrival Tony Estanguet, the long-expected highlighting of the day, ended after the Frenchman failed to qualify for the final. He posted a 9th place in the semifinal, dashing his hope to win the unprecedented third straight Olympic gold medal. The top eight enter the finals.

    Estanguet won the C1 gold in Sydney and retained the title in Athens, but only after a late review gave Martikan a two-second penalty for touching a gate and demoted him into second place narrowly.

    The world number one Slavak led all the way to the finish and staged a fast, flawless showdown to the thunderous roar of the crowds.

    "I think both my runs were pretty fast but my tactics in the Olympic race were not so good but I think I was quick enough," he told reporters.

    Martikan, the first slalom canoeist to win four Olympic medals, has already set his sights on his third Olympic gold in London. "I don't want to stop competing. I hope to have the chance to compete at the Olympics in London and I will train very hard," he added.

    Martikan, who had won four world titles with the latest in 2007, skipped the World Cups this year in a bid to have his best shape at the Beijing Olympics.

    "It was impossible 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," he told Xinhua after a pre-Games training.

    World number three Grimm finished only fourth in the semifinal, but a good-form in the close final made him to stand on the top of the podium.

    "It was my dream since I was a small child," the 22-year-old said. "Everything just worked today. I've achieved my goal."

    The gold came as a little bonus for him. "I knew it was enough for a medal but I didn't know it was enough for gold," the German said. "If you try and gamble on this course then you are more than likely going to lose."

    But at the post-racing press conference, Boukpeti grabbed most of the media attention.

    Boukpeti was born in France, but his two sisters were born in Togo where his mother, a Frenchwoman, met his Togoles father and got married. He said he started young for the French team, but the hard selection process and injuries left him with little choice but to try for the Togo team.

    "Unfortunately, I've only been to Togo once when I was very young, but now I have a very good reason to go back," he said.

    Wednesday and Thursday, the third and final day of the canoeing slalom competition, will feature the men's C2 and women's K1 heats, semifinals, and finals.