They hoped for a better finish, but Canadian kayakers Hugues Fournel and Ryan Cochrane were proud just to have reached the Olympic final after learning less than three weeks ago they'd be going to Rio.
Fournel, of Quebec City, and Cochrane, of Halifax, finished eighth and last in the two-man 200-metre kayak final on Thursday, with a time on 33.76 seconds.
The race was won by the Spanish duo of Saul Craviotto and Cristian Toro in 32.07 seconds. Liam Heath and Jon Schofield of Britain took the silver medal at 32.36 seconds, while Aurimas Lankas and Edvinas Ramanauskas of Lithuania won bronze at 32.38.
Fournel and Cochrane, who finished seventh at the 2012 Olympics in London, did not qualify for the Rio Games, but were informed on July 31 that a spot was open to replace a Russian pair who were suspended for doping. Along with their coach Frederic Jobin, the Canadians had to scramble to get back into shape and ready to compete.
"Just making the final is an accomplishment," said Cochrane. "We're really proud of that.
"I think we surprised a lot of people. We weren't even supposed to be here and we definitely weren't supposed to be in the final. I look at other teams that were in the same situation and I don't know if any of them got to a final."
Fournel said the hurry-up preparations made for a memorable experience.
"Once we knew we were going to Rio, we said we have nothing to lose," he said. "Every day on the water we stayed positive.
"It's fun to race like that. It's the first time. In London, we'd had some good results going in, a World Cup podium, and there was a certain amount of pressure on us. There wasn't much pressure here. We were just happy to be representing our country. It was a humbling experience."
Both intend to try again at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.