Hornsby Places Eighth in Olympics' 200m Men's Kayak Single

UPDATE [2:55pm]: Team USA sent over some quotes from U.S. Olympic Sprint Coach Shaun Craven on Hornsby's performance Friday: "His heat was a little bit shaky. He needed to make the B Final, so he just tried to do the best he could. He made the B Final, so that's the key thing for us right now," he said. "He's OK that he's in the B Final. But he would like to perform a little bit better in the B Final, so that's obviously what he's focused on now."

He also said there is something to be gained in Saturday's B Final.

"Every place you gain is a higher ranking," Craven said. "He's already in the top 16, so the higher up he can get in the rankings, it's better for us and hopefully it shows that our program's slightly moving forward and you can build on that for the next four years."

FIRST POST [12:50pm]: Olympian and graduate Tim Hornsby placed eighth in Friday morning's 200m sprint kayaking event.

Although Hornsby advances to the event's B Final on Saturday, he will not medal in this year's Olympics, according to Team USA.

From their report:

Hornsby will advance to the Saturday’s B Final. No medals are awarded in the B Final. It's for finishers ranked 9-16 after the Semifinals. He finished his Semifinal with a time of 37.660, +2.041 seconds behind the first place finisher - Ed McKeever from Great Britain. Hornsby’s ranked 6th in his first round heat with a time of 36.560.

Hornsby's event was making its debut at this year's Olympics, and it's his only event in this year's games.

From a Team USA report on Hornsby sent out to media before this morning's race:

For Hornsby, it's his first shot at an Olympic medal and his only event in these Games. He's passed the time during these Games by training, resting and watching his girlfriend - U.S. Olympian Becky Holliday - place 9th in the pole vault. Johnson, a three-time Olympian, raced in the 500m heats and Semifinals on Tuesday, finishing 6th in her Semifinal. Click HERE for a full recap.

Hornsby said: "There's no real pacing, but there is different thoughts throughout the race. For me, I like to think about keeping my hands down in the first couple of strokes and making sure I move the boat through the work. And in the middle, I like to focus on the legs and running the boat a little bit more. And then in the finish, it's just trying to keep it light and continue to grab the water and move the boat those last 30-40 meters that are really difficult. Each of these cues don't mean a lot when you say them, but from saying them in practice, they have big meaning with the way my body changes and what I try and do."