Giovanni De Gennaro’s gold medal win in the single kayak slalom finale on Thursday brought an end to three years of suffering for the Italian. He had finished 15th at Tokyo, a performance that fueled his success in Paris.

De Gennaro, who was the last racer on the course, couldn't dislodge the British Joe Clarke. He won the Olympic title after he blasted through the difficult course with a time of just 88.22 second.

I'm still in shock, and don't understand what is happening. "I'm super happy to have this gold piece on my neck, it's amazing", he said still shocked at his victory.

Just an incredible day. "I'm happy that my family is here, and I was able to share this feeling with the crowd."

De Gennaro was descending the course in fifth place, based on his performance during the morning semi-final. He knew that he had a good chance to win gold when he finished.

I thought that it might be possible. "I thought it could be... "But yeah, the time in the end was enough," said he.

It was difficult to wait and see if his efforts were enough.

It was the longest 10 or 15 minutes of my entire life. All of them are great athletes and can fight for gold so I knew that there would be no guarantee. "I just wanted a medal and now I have it, so I am super happy," said he.

(source: Reuters)