Canoe gold but Shanaze Reade crashes out of BMX

Friday, August 22: Mixed news from Team GB to greet Prime Minister Gordon Brown's arrival in Beijing. Shanaze Reade, who was a big hope for gold in the women's BMX final - making its debut at these Olympics - crashed out today, suffering a suspected broken hand in the process.

Reade, 19, who had already fallen in a semi-final heat, started well in the final but was passed on the first turn by the French rider Anne-Caroline Chausson. Reade fell while attempting to pass Chausson on the inside. She clipped the Frenchwoman's back wheel and went flying.

"I put everything into this and I couldn't have done any more," the British girl said afterwards. "I'm hurting - my back is sore and I think I have broken my hand."

But there was much better news from the canoeing this morning, where Tim Brabants powered to victory in the final of the men's K1 1000m to win Britain's 18th gold medal of these Games. Brabants, 31, dominated the race, finishing almost a boat's length ahead of the defending champion, Norway's Erik Veraas Larsen.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown, in town for Sunday's closing ceremony where the Olympic flag with be handed over to representatives from London, hailed the Beijing Games as "a spectacular success", after talks with China's President Hu Jintao.

The prime minister has promised to raise the issue of China's human rights record during further meetings planned with the host country's leaders.

FIRST POSTED AUGUST 22, 2008