OKLAHOMA CITY — Carrie Johnson had made the Olympics before with an unexpected victory in the U.S. trials four years ago, so the rush that she experienced after earning a second straight trip caught her a little off guard.

Johnson carried out her role as the favorite in her 500-meter single-kayak race today, leading throughout to beat Maggie Hogan by more than two boat-lengths.

"The first thing that came into my head is, `I'm going to the Olympics.' It's solid," said Johnson, a 24-year-old from San Diego. "It didn't quite sink in immediately, but that was the first thought that came into my mind and it was a lot more exciting than I thought it would be. It was very emotional."

Johnson finished in 2 minutes, 13.978 seconds. That time was about 17 seconds slower than her Athens effort, perhaps because she was paddling into a headwind on the Oklahoma River course set up near downtown. Hogan finished in 2:18.076, and Kari-Jean McKenzie was third in 2:22.923.

"I'm really excited. This is what I came to do at the trials, and I accomplished that," Johnson said.

Two-time Olympian Rami Zur failed to seal his Beijing berth in the men's single-kayak 500-meter race a few minutes earlier. Zur got off to a strong start but was passed by Morgan House at about the 300-meter mark and finished about a boat-length behind.

House finished in 1:47.630, with Zur at 1:49.645. Taran Stucchio placed third in 1:50.057. Patrick Dolan of the Hawai'i Canoe-Kayak Team finished fifth in 1:52.394 and Eric Abbott of HCKT was seventh in 1:57.853.

"As the finish line got closer, I could see them both falling back. Once I hit about the 150 (meters to go mark), I just shot up the stroke rate. Once I was ahead of them, I knew they were not coming back from that," said House, 21-year-old Georgian who got hooked on kayaking during the 1996 Atlanta Games. "They were not going to catch me."

Johnson and Zur were the only two athletes who could lock up a Beijing trip, thanks to top-five finishes at last year's world championships. Dozens of other canoeists and kayakers, including former Olympians Jeff Smoke and Jordan Malloch, were seeking to position themselves to earn a spot during next month's continental qualifier in Montreal.

The 31-year-old Zur can still qualify in other events in Montreal, and he'll have a chance to overtake House at a World Cup event this June in Hungary. House is hoping to reach his first Olympics.

"When I finished the race today, I was in disbelief that I had won," House said. "To make it to the Olympics, it would literally be a dream come true. I've been wanting to do it since I was 8 years old."

Zur, who was not made available for interviews with reporters, took his second place medal off immediately after he left the stage at the awards ceremony.

"Rami's great. Either one of us could have taken it today, and it just happened to be me," House said.

Johnson and Zur both barely missed the 500 finals in Athens, each falling one spot shy.

"It was painfully close and at the same time just being right there was a major experience," Johnson said. "This time, it would be very painfully close to miss out on the final. But at world championships I have been in the final the past three years after Athens, so hopefully that will continue."

Johnson also teamed with Hogan to win the 500 pairs kayak race by a comfortable 5-second margin over Susannah Stucchio and Emily Wright.

"I think competing in Athens set me up to be where I am right now because that was really my first major international competition and it showed me where the top athletes are and how hard I had to train in 2006, 2007 and this year in order to be where I want to be," Johnson said. "I think that set me up to be here right now."

Malloch was an easy winner in the men's single-canoe 500 race. His time of 2:03.798 was nearly 7 seconds better than Robert Finlayson.

Smoke placed sixth in the 500 kayak race that was won by House. His premier event, the 1,000, will be held Saturday morning. Zur and Smoke placed second in the men's 500 pairs race, behind the team of Tim Hornsby and Taran Stucchio.

Dolan finished first the Junior Men K1 (500 meter) 'A' final in 2:04.110, while BJ Campbell of HCKT was fourth in 2:11.217. Kaihe Chong of HCKT was first in the 'B' final in 2:21.274. Giulia Anderson of HCKT was second in the Junior Women K1 (500 meter) B final in 2:40.793.

In the Senior Men K2 (500 meter) final, Dolan and House were third in 1:42.497. Campbell and Dolan were first in the Junior Men K2 (500 meter) final in 1:54.547.