Olympics: Russia storms to canoe sprint double gold

London - Russian pair Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko blitzed the field for gold in the Olympic canoe sprint men’s kayak double event Saturday.

Postrigay and Dyachenko raced away to win the sprint by a huge three-quarter-length margin in 33.507 seconds.

Belarus claimed silver through Raman Piatrushenka and Vadzim Makhneu in 34.266, while British pair Liam Heath and Jon Schofield took bronze in 34.421.

The world champion French team finished fourth.

“It’s a really tough competition. We’ve trained hard. It’s the Olympics, and that’s how it goes,” said Postrigay.

Belarus’ Piatrushenka lamented the blustery conditions.

“The wind was head on. I went for it and I got a silver.”

British kayaker Heath also found the going tough.

“With a headwind like that, it adds a few seconds on. It doesn’t sound much but when you’re going at that pace it really drags out. But I’m so pleased.”