PARIS (Reuters) - The sport of canoe sprint may be the one where Hungary hopes to take the most medals, but those expectations are not the source of any pressure that the athletes may be feeling - instead, that comes from within, kayaker Adam Varga told Reuters.
The 23-year-old Hungarian won his men's 1000-metre heat on Wednesday, finishing more than a second ahead of Germany's Jakob Thordsen to qualify directly for the semi-finals on Friday.
"The federation is doing these things very well, because they don't put pressure on any of our athletes. I have pressure because of myself, because I think I could be in the podium," Varga said.
"I have to do my best, and it will be very hard, so maybe I have pressure from myself, but not from outside."
Canoe and kayak sprint racing has more in common with rowing than white-water canoeing, with the races taking place on flat water, with no obstacles or gates.
Competitors in kayak races (often shortened to K, followed by a number indicating how many people are in the boat) sit in their boat and use a two-sided paddle, while canoeists kneel and use a single paddle.
With Hungary's total of 86 medals in canoeing before the 2024 Games, the sport is second only to fencing in terms of the country's Olympic success, and both fans and the nation's canoe federation will be hopeful of more glory at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, east of Paris.
Several of their athletes will double up, taking part in two- and four-person events on top of the single races on the programme, and Varga raced together with Tokyo K1 Olympic champion Balin Kopasz in Tuesday's K2 500m heats.
"Maybe it's not a warm up race, but the good things in the K2 make it like a warm up," Varga said.
The first medals will be decided on Thursday, when the men's canoe double and the men's and women's kayak four finals all take place over a distance of 500m.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
