At his third Olympics, Cuba’s Serguey Torres may be on the brink of breaking through to win his first Olympic medal.

26-year-old Torres and his teenage C2 1000 partner, Fernando Dayan Jorge, finished second in their heat and then won their semi-final to qualify for Saturday’s gold medal race.

Jorge is the same age as Torres was when he made his Olympic debut in 2008.

“We are very content with that result,” Torres said.

“We worked very hard with the team and we knew we had the potential, and it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Torres and Jorge only came together as a combination less than one year ago, but immediately struck up a strong partnership, culminating in a win at the 2016 Pan American Championships.

“In Cuba we have a big tradition in this sport, so it’s a great responsibility for us so we are very relieved we have got through,” Torres said.

“It’s been very tough for us, we are a new team, my partner is only 18-years-old. We knew that we had the potential, but we had to see if we could make it. We’re very pleased we are here.”

Giving Torres added incentive on Saturday is the possibility he could be competing at his last Olympics, which would end a career that began as a teenager in Beijing in 2008.

“In my case I’m 26-years-old, so I’ll have to see about the future and whether I push on for Tokyo,” he said.

“But my partner, because he’s much younger, has great potential and a great future.”

The men’s C2 1000 final will be contested at 9:22am Saturday, Rio time.