Cooks’ campaign over

Canoeist Josh Utanga has ended the Cook Islands’ Olympic team’s campaign with a last-place finish in his heat of the men’s K1 200 metres.

Having got the experience of the Olympic Games out of the way with a poor showing in the K1 1000 metres earlier in the week, much was expected from Utanga in the shorter, sharper K1 200 metres - his preferred race. Instead, he became his heat’s only non-qualifier for the next round of action held early yesterday (Cook Islands time).

After that round the top 16 placegetters made it through to the semi-finals.

While seemingly close, it was anything but as Utanga finished almost two-and-a-half seconds behind the final qualifier, Tim Hornsby of the United States.

It brought the Cook Islands’ Olympic campaign to an anti-climatic end after promising performances from the other Cook Islands athletes.

Fellow canoeist Ella Nicholas was the first Cook Islands representative to be eliminated from the showcase after narrowly missing the semi-finals of the women’s K1 slalom event.

Weightlifter Luisa Peters and swimmer Tepaia Payne posted personal bests while Celeste Brown also posted a brave effort in her heat of the women’s 50 metre freestyle event.

Track athletes Patricia Taea and Patrick Tuara both came agonisingly close to personal bests in their 100 metre sprint preliminary races. Taea was third in her event whereas the two runners who finished ahead of her progressed to the next round.

Cook Islands flagbearer and Laser Radial sailor Helema Williams finished at the bottom of the fleet, while Utanga’s efforts in the men’s K1 1000 metres also saw him finish last in the event.

Williams, Taea, Tuara and Peters all arrive back in Rarotonga with their support staff and other officials on Tuesday afternoon.