RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Just seconds into her first heat in canoe slalom, Maialen Chourraut thought her Olympics were over.
She missed a gate entirely in the women's kayak on the fast but unforgiving course at Whitewater Stadium.
Nervous in the second heat, she was penalized twice for touching gates but sliced and curled through the waves and eddies so fast that she scraped into the semifinals, 11th out of 15. Surviving, she said, made her feel stronger.
That was Monday.
On Thursday, all she touched were river rapids and the heart of her husband and national coach, Xabier Etxaniz, who jumped into the water in the finish area to give her a congratulatory kiss for winning the gold medal.