LONDON, July 29 (UPI) -- Michael Martikan, seeking a medal in his fifth Olympics, got off to a good start Sunday by turning in the fastest qualifying time in the canoe slalom heats.
Martikan has won the event twice and finished second two other times since 1996 and he led the 17-man field Sunday with a qualifying time of 90.56 seconds.
David Florence of Britain, who finished second to Martikan in Beijing four years ago, had the fifth best qualifying time.
In the kayak singles qualifying, Germany's Hannes Aigner was quickest in 83.49. World No. 1 Peter Kauzer of Slovakia was fifth.
Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo, whose bronze medal in the event four years ago was the first Olympic medal in his country's history, barely made it into the semifinals with a 14th-place qualifying effort.
