Italy’s Giovanni de Gennaro said he was in “disbelief” after clinching the men’s kayak gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  

Eighth in the semi-final, the 32-year-old paddler delivered when it mattered most to capture the Olympic crown at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.  

The reigning European champion becomes the third Italian man to win this event after Pierpaolo Ferrazzi at Barcelona 1992 and Daniele Molmenti at London 2012.  

France’s Titouan Castryck finished just 0.20 off de Gennaro as he took silver, while Spain’s Pau Echaniz secured a shock bronze.  

De Gennaro produced a stunning showing, sweeping down the course in a time of 88.22 – more than three seconds quicker than he achieved in the semi-final.  

The Italian was then left to watch on as the other big contenders for the title made costly mistakes.  

Defending champion Jiri Prskavec’s hopes were dented when the Czech ace struck gate seven and his chances were over when he clattered gate 16.  

Great Britain’s Joseph Clarke, the Rio 2016 gold medallist, was the fastest in the semi-final but he also missed out on a medal, crossing in 89.82 to finish fifth and confirm de Gennaro as the Olympic champion.  

“I’m in disbelief,” said de Gennaro.  

“I don’t know what has happened. I’m super happy that I have this piece of gold around my neck, just an amazing day.  

“I’m so happy that my family is here and I can share all these emotions with the crowd.”  

“I thought there was still room for someone to get in front of me but in the end the time was enough. It was a really close one and this time the luck was on my side.”  

France’s Castryck came the closest to denying de Gennaro the title as he looked to secure a second slalom gold for France following Nicolas Gestin's success in canoe success.  

The 19-year-old put together a fine run only to make a slight error before gate 17 – a section of the course where other paddlers had come unstuck.  

He powered to the finish but it was not enough for gold as he earned silver in 88.42.  

“I’m disappointed,” said Castryck.  

“I was really paddling for the gold today but small mistakes made me second.  

“I made small balance mistakes, so it got me out of the wave and I had to get back two metres so a lot of time lost and when you see 0.20 at the end you missed those two seconds.”  

The surprise of the day came from Echaniz – a 23-year-old paddler who had never previously got on the podium at an International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup.  

Echaniz sealed the 12th and last place to advance to the final before pulling off a stunning performance.  

Going first in the final, Echaniz produced a raw time of 86.87 which would have seen him take gold but a two-second penalty for a touch on gate 19 saw him come away with bronze.  

“It is my first Olympics and my first medal, this is crazy,” said the 23-year-old.  

“I’ve been dreaming about this run for a long time, so this is a dream come true.  

“The semi-final was hard for me, so I knew I could do a much better run. I just went for everything and I got it.”