Sports

Marietta Athlete Heading to the Olympics

Jeff Larimer, of Marietta, and Eric Hurd, of Woodstock, joined the team heading to London for the 2012 Olympics. It will be the first Olympic Games for both paddlers.

Add two more athletes and one final boat to the nominees for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Canoe/Kayak Team. Eric Hurd (Woodstock) and Jeff Larimer (Marietta) reached the .

Hurd and Larimer finished tops among U.S. C-2 boats with a time of 115.40, +7.11 seconds behind the gold medalists. It will be the first Olympic Games for both paddlers.

Casey Eichfeld (Drums, Pa.) and Devin McEwan (Salisbury, Conn.) placed 13th. Scott McCleskey (Sylva, N.C.) and Dave Hepp (Charlotte, N.C.) finished 18th in the semifinal after turning in a Team USA-leading 11th place run in qualifying heats.

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In order to be displaced as the lone U.S. men's C-2 in London, one of the other U.S. boats would have had to make the Top 20 and finished above Hurd and Larimer.

Hurd and Larimer join slalom C-1 Eichfeld slalom kayakers Caroline Queen (Darnestown, Md.) and Scott Parsons (Bethesda, Md.) and sprint kayakers Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) and Tim Hornsby (Atlanta) on the 2012 Olympic Team.

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