RIO DE JANEIRO -- Halifax's Mark de Jonge has advanced to the final of the men's 200-metre singles kayak event at the Rio Olympics, but the spot didn't come without drama.
A photo finish was needed to determine who grabbed the fourth and final qualifying spot in his semifinal, which was stacked with several of the fastest paddlers.
Fortunately for the Canadian, the photo determined that he edged Marko Novakovic of Serbia by just three hundredths of a second.
A bronze medallist in London four years ago, de Jonge posted a time 34.775 seconds. He was third in his opening heat in 34.898.
Britain's Liam Heath finished first in 34.076.
De Jonge was among the favourites heading into the event after winning the last two world titles.
After failed attempts to qualify for the Olympics in 2004 and 2008 at longer distances, de Jonge worked full-time for three years with an engineering firm before taking a leave of absence to focus on making the 2012 Games when the 200 metres was added.
Canada's women's K4 500-metre team is also in medal contention after qualifying to Saturday's final.
Montreal's Emilie Fournel, Andreanne Langlois of Quebec City, Genevieve Orton of Lake Echo, N.S., and K.C. Fraser of Oakville, Ont., were fourth in their opening heat with a time of one minute 34.269 seconds.
The four paddlers moved on to the semifinals where they tied Britain with the second-best time of 1:36.254 seconds to secure their spot in the final.
