The first appearance by representatives of the Slovak Republic at the summer Olympic Games brought us a gold, silver and bronze medal. The gold was won on the river Ocoee - in the slalom Canadian singles - by 17-year-old Michal Martikán, who thus crowned the endeavours of the Liptovský Mikuláš water-sports community - trainers as well as participants - which have brought us numerous international successes over the years. Slavomír Kňazovický earned the silver medal in the Canadian singles 500 metres after a dramatic contest played out on Lanier Lake, while Jozef Gönci brought us our first medal of the games with his bronze in the small-bore free rifle 50 metres. The Slovak Republic took 43rd place in the medals table and came 41st on points from among the record 197 countries participating.