Mark de Jonge's home club cheers him on in men's kayak finals

There was an opportunity but no medal for Nova Scotian paddler Mark de Jonge Saturday in the men's K-1 200 metre race. 

De Jonge placed seventh, but at his home club in Halifax, clubmates at the Maskwa Aquatic Club said they were "extremely proud" of his performance. 

"In our hearts, he's got gold all the way anyway," said former club commodore John Moore. 

Moore noted how involved de Jonge is at the club, and how the Olympian has become an inspiration to younger members.  

"Success breeds success, and that's been certainly the story here. And it's going to continue to be, going forward. So we're all extremely proud of what Mark has done." 

"Intense" race

"It was intense," said paddler Jenna MacDonald, one of about 50 people who watched the race together on a big screen. "We were all freaking out. We were just really excited for him. It was a good race."

De Jonge crossed the finish line with a time of 36.080 seconds. He took bronze in the same event during the London Olympics and was hoping to defend his title, or improve in his placement. 

De Jonge began the race strong but finished behind paddlers from Great Britain, France, and Spain, who took the top spots. 

"I kind of know that Mark's a quick starter and a quick middle guy, and his end is maybe his weakest part of his race," said Alex Scott, who trains with de Jonge. 

"Towards the end I saw him not in the top three, and so I knew, he's running out of space to make up for that."

"He did the best race that he could, and I think that's something to say too. I hope he's happy with the race. I know he's not going to be happy with the result, but I hope he can take something from this and not beat himself up too much, because we just want him to be happy," said Scott.