David Florence won silver for Britain after a perfect run in the slalom canoeing final at the Shunyi white water park.

The 26-year-old is Britain's first slalom canoeing medallist since Gareth Marriott also won silver at Barcelona in 1992.

Florence came into the final in fourth place and produced a faultless run which propelled him above Poland's Krzystof Bieryt and Stanislav Jezek of the Czech Republic. He was in first place until Slovakian world number one Michal Martikan claimed gold with the last run of the final.

Earlier on a dramatic day for Britain, 2004 Olympic silver medallist Campbell Walsh crashed out of the kayaking competition when he finished last in the semi-final.

Florence, who finished second in the 2007 World Cup series, had been in the medal hunt all competition. He qualified for the semi-finals ranked third after completing the fastest run in the second heat.

Florence incurred two penalty seconds for catching a gate in the semi-final - but upped the ante in the final and then watched his closest rivals wilt. Bieryt suffered a nightmare run to finished eighth and Jezek then collected four penalty seconds to also drop out of medal contention.

"I am absolutely delighted. I put in a good final run there and in the pressure of a big final, it is the most exciting time to do it," said Florence, who celebrated his birthday on the day of the opening ceremony.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking watching the guys follow. I was happy. I had done a good run and that was all that I could do.

"I hoped it was a better run than the others. It was in some cases but not in Martikan's case. He had a great run and well done to him.

"I would have loved the gold but I ended up with silver. A medal is what I have been after for the last four years."