Jen Hodson ended the South African canoeing squads challenge at the Beijing Olympic Games on a high note with a very competitive race in the final of the prestigious women's 500m K1.

Hodgson finished eighth in a flurry of boats that crossed the line together at the end of the fast paced final that was sensationally won by the Ukrainian dark horse Inna Osypenko-Radomska.

"It was so hard," said Hodson. "It was faster than I have ever experienced before because everyone stepped up their game for this race. I was quick off the start, and went quickly, but maybe I relaxed a little in the next hundred meters. Remember that in the semifinal I went out harder and blew in the last ten meters."

Hodson's race provided a highlight for the seven-strong squad of South African sprinters, and she echoed the same sentiment expressed by the other athletes.

"I need a little more experience. For a lot of the girls in the final it was their third or fourth Olympics, and it makes a huge difference in this sport."

"It is disappointing to finish eighth, I was aiming at sixth. But there was hardly any time between first and ninth. Everyone was very close. When I went over the line I looked and I didn't know where I was," she added.

"Racing from lane one is not easy either," said Hodson. "You can't see anyone and the Russian girl next to me was slow."

Hodson also said that she was a little unsettled by the enormity of the occasion.

"Everything about today was different," she added. "I don't know why it was different but it was. While I was training last week I was saying to myself that this is just another regatta. But then you are on the line shaking like a leaf and you don't know why."

"There are so many emotions, perhaps because it is the end of a four year cycle, and it is not just a stepping stone anymore, and it all creates different pressures," she added.

"I think my performance was important to the team because we needed something to boost everyone's confidence."

Hodson was also part of the women's K4 crew that raced superbly in the final on Friday.

Hodson was non committal about her plans for the future.

"That's the other thing that is so difficult about the Olympics because it is the end of a four year block. I am not too sure what's coming next."