Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, August 1 (Xinhua) -- "Slalom racing is like lottery" said Slovak Olympic champion Elena Kaliska in Shunyi Olympic Canoeing/Kayaking Park on Friday when she was asked to describe slalom racing, an event she has been doing for years.

    It is matter of chance although it also demands a lot of skills, she told Xinhua, adding that being a defending champion, she felt the pressure.

    "The water course is very hard. It is necessary for me to make a lot of practice. Of course, every competition is hard, but this one (Beijing Olympics) is much harder," she said through a translator.

    Elena and Stepanka from the Czech Republic are arch rivals in the competition. When asked if she had felt pressure from other athletes, she said:"I just hope more paddlers get good results in the contest."

    On the question of whether she had any plan for retirement after the Beijing Olympics, she said that it was a question she could not think about at present.

    "I don't think about it now. It's far away. I don't know whether I can win again this time. Time will tell," she said before being asked for a doping test in the park.

    The 36-year-old athlete started paddling at an early age in her life. She won the title in women's K1 event at Athens Olympic Games four years ago and snatched one World Championship title in 2005 and two World Championship titles in 2005 and 2006.