The river rules, moms are masters, and Chladek turns silver
The first boat off the line proved that the Ocoee River has little patience with mistakes.

U.S. whitewater kayaker Dana Chladek--the first to race the course--had a rude introduction to the day. Her first run was a certified mess: she flipped, rolled and blew past four gates. The bronze medalist from '92 started first and sat last. That is, except for a Latvian woman who swam.

If Chaldek was flotsam, there was also jetsam among medal favorites: Lynn Simpson of Great Britain and Kordula Streipecke of Germany had terrible runs. "I felt like I was in good company," Chladek said.

But there was also good company at the top of the heap. After the frist run, Czech Stepanka Hilgertova sat at the top and she never came down, ultimately running the river with precision to capture the gold for the Czech Republic.

But the story focused on Chladek and her fight back. Her second run was near flawless, although she did clip the second to last gate, a penalty she called stupid. But her run was good enough to tie Hilgertova's, and put her within reach of a silver or bronze medal.

She would have to wait as 30 kayakers took their final runs down the course. Somehow, her grasp on a medal held.

"I couldn't believe it," said Chladek. "To think that you could be second and have thirty people go down and have it hold. It's the Olympics."

Update by By Boo Turner