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| Togo claims first Olympic medal | Togo claims first Olympic medal |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Togo won its first ever Olympic medal when Benjamin Boukpeti took bronze in the men's single kayak slalom at the 2008 Beijing Games. | Togo won its first ever Olympic medal when Benjamin Boukpeti took bronze in the men's single kayak slalom at the 2008 Beijing Games. |
| Boukpeti's snapped his paddle in half during wild celebrations. | Boukpeti's snapped his paddle in half during wild celebrations. |
| "I can hardly believe it but I'm not surprised," said Boukpeti, who became the first non-European male kayaker to win an Olympic slalom medal. | "I can hardly believe it but I'm not surprised," said Boukpeti, who became the first non-European male kayaker to win an Olympic slalom medal. |
| Unexpected leader after the first run, he held on to finish 5.21 seconds ahead of Ireland's Eoin Rheinisch in fourth. | Unexpected leader after the first run, he held on to finish 5.21 seconds ahead of Ireland's Eoin Rheinisch in fourth. |
| Germany's Alexander Grimm claimed gold and produced an error-free final run, taking the difficult upstream gates smoothly, to move from fourth to first. | Germany's Alexander Grimm claimed gold and produced an error-free final run, taking the difficult upstream gates smoothly, to move from fourth to first. |
| They showed me it was possible Benjamin Boukpeti Is the Olympic spirit alive in Africa? | |
| But despite Grimm's impressive efforts, the biggest cheer from the packed crowd was reserved for world number 56, Boukpeti. | But despite Grimm's impressive efforts, the biggest cheer from the packed crowd was reserved for world number 56, Boukpeti. |
| Afterwards he hugged and kissed his French mother and Togolese father, AP news agency reports. | Afterwards he hugged and kissed his French mother and Togolese father, AP news agency reports. |
| "They showed me it was possible," Boukpeti said | "They showed me it was possible," Boukpeti said |
| France's Fabien Lefevre, who was favourite to win, took silver, but he struggled in the upper part of the course. | France's Fabien Lefevre, who was favourite to win, took silver, but he struggled in the upper part of the course. |