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August 20, 2004 1:40 pm

Parsons finishes sixth in kayak finals

By MARIBEL VILLALVA

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Seconds after crossing the finish line at the men's single kayak slalom finals of the 2004 Summer Olympics, U.S. kayaker Scott Parsons pumped his fist in the air and gave his boat three good pats.

Parsons, 25, had a clean run and was happy with his two-run time of 194.76 seconds.

Parsons went into the finals round in ninth place and had to move past six boats for a bronze medal. He managed half of that mission and finished in sixth place. Benoit Peschier of France won the gold, Campbell Walsh of Great Britain took silver, and Fabien Lefevre of France won bronze.

Parsons missed the bronze by 3.77 seconds but was pleased with his effort.

``I am just happy with a solid, clean run. I managed to move up the ranks,'' Parsons said. ``The last three years have come down to this, and I can leave happy knowing that I did well. This is the Olympics. C'mon, it's awesome.''

Parsons was born in Sylvania, Ohio, and now lives in Bethesda, Md.

Team leader Bill Endicott said he has known Parsons for about 10 years and has enjoyed seeing him grow as a kayaker.

Parsons only had the 14th-best qualifying time (the top 20 reached the semifinals), while teammate Brett Heyl qualified fifth. But Heyl failed to make it out of the semifinals, finishing in 15th place.

``That's how the Olympics work. A lot can happen,'' said Bill Sloan, chairman of the U.S. Association of Canoe/Kayak.

Parsons said he enjoyed paddling on the artificial whitewater course in Athens but had a hard time getting used to the salt water.

``It's really hard on the eyes,'' he said. ``It actually took me longer to get used to the salt than the course.''

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