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There was an extra hour of waiting thanks to some high winds. But at the end of the afternoon, Casey Eichfeld had advanced at the Olympics.

Competing in the first of his two events, Eichfeld had reached the semifinals in the men’s single Canoe Slalom (C1). The Drums native finished 12th out of 19 competitors to reach the next stage, which begins at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Nineteen men were entered in the event with each getting to make two runs on Sunday afternoon at Deodoro Olympic Whitewater Stadium. Each competitor gets to take the best of their two times, with Eichfeld qualifying on his first run of 1:40.02. Eichfeld’s second run came in at 1:41.23.

Leading the pack was Germany’s Sideris Tasiadis with a time of 1:32.23.

Eichfeld could not be reached for comment on Sunday but did thank his supporters on Twitter.

“Please forgive my social media absence, and know I see all your love coming in!” he wrote. “Words can’t express my gratitude!!!”

It’s certainly going to be a busy week for Eichfeld. His Olympic experience continues at 11:30 a.m. Monday as he teams up with Devin McEwan in the men’s double Canoe Slalom (C2) preliminaries, looking to qualify for another semifinal round.

His singles competition continues Tuesday in the 14-man semifinals. This time, the men will only get one run to post their best time with the top 10 advancing to the finals later in the day to decide the medalists.

This is Eichfeld’s third time in the Olympics, having finished 14th in C1 in the 2012 London Games and 11th in C2 in the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Casey Eichfeld finished 12th in the heats of the men’s single Canoe Slalom on Sunday, advancing to the semifinals.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_AP16220674977761.jpg.optimal.jpgCasey Eichfeld finished 12th in the heats of the men’s single Canoe Slalom on Sunday, advancing to the semifinals. Kirsty Wigglesworth | AP photo

Times Leader

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