Perez and Peter Newton finished sixth in the men's two-man, 500-meter kayak finals and although they didn't medal, they can take solace in giving the best U.S. performance in the event.
It's the second time in as many days that Perez was part of a U.S.-best boat. He led the K-4 to sixth in the first medals race for Americans.
Also Sunday, Petar Merkov of Bulgaria won his second silver medal in as many days despite reports he tested positive for a banned substance earlier this summer.
"If it's true, then it's wrong he's here now," said Norway's Knut Holmann, who beat Merkov in the 500-meter K-1 for his third career gold. "It's a lot of people who should be doing something about it, although obviously they haven't done what they should."
Holmann also was outspoken about the delay, saying he was forced to warm up five times.
"I think probably they could've started at 9 because I think it was almost like it was now," he said. "If we had raced at noon, that would've been the worst -- it was like hell by then."
Finish-line markers swayed, whitecaps rippled and a motorboat almost went under as time nearly ran out on the six races.
The wind that had stayed away from the Sydney International Regatta Center the first two weeks of the Olympics arrived on the last day and made up for lost time, delaying the finals by six hours -- four more than the event was supposed to last.
Two attempts to start were blown away by gusts that approached 50 mph. The second time, a worker's boat took on so much water it nearly sank.
As cold, hungry paddlers waited nervously -- some fearing they were going to miss flights, others fretting about missing the closing ceremony -- impatient fans stripped their clothes and dived into the choppy waters, wind be damned.
Water was choppy, but the calmest it had been all day when the races began at 3 p.m. (midnight Sunday EDT). Whitecaps returned by the third race, but there were no more delays.
Perez learned about patience as he endured a six-month legal battle to become eligible to compete as an American. He competed for Cuba, his homeland, in the 1992 Olympics, defected in '93 and became a citizen last year.
Olympic rules require three years of citizenship, but Perez got around it by convincing arbitrators that he gave up his Cuban citizenship when he defected seven years ago.
Perez, of Miami, and Newton, of Seattle, got off to a horrible start and were last after 250 meters. They were seventh with 50 meters to go, then made a huge push to catch Italy and Bulgaria. The medals went to Hungary, Australia and Germany.
The U.S. tandem was 5.562 seconds behind the gold-winning Hungarians and 0.018 seconds ahead of Italy. This was the second and last final for the U.S. team, which has not won a sprint kayaking medal since 1992.
Perez and Newton finished fourth in the K-2 500 at the 1998 world championships. They had a down year in '99 mainly because both were sick.
While they were ill, Stein Jorgensen and John Mooney qualified the United States for this event. Perez and Newton won a head-to-head raceoff last week to claim the entry. The four are partners in the K-4.
At times Sunday, it looked as if the six remaining events would not be run.
International Canoe Federation officials discussed their options with the International Olympic Committee and Sydney Olympic organizers. They considered everything from night racing to competing Monday -- or maybe even not at all.
The race agenda was cut to 75 minutes from two hours, making the medals ceremonies one big show at the end.
The long delays forced paddlers to warm up in vein several times. There also were problems with food and drinks running out.
Australia's weather service reported winds of 35 mph around the original start, prompting a wind warning until 6 p.m. Gusts spiked to 46 mph just before the second try.
That bid was delayed partially because the winds had knocked out the start and finish buoys and the electric eyes attached to them. A worker in the first boat that tried fixing it almost went under, forcing another man in a larger boat to take over.
Paddlers often race in inclement weather, but these winds were considered too severe -- especially since races would be held going into the gusts.
High winds in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith were a concern coming into the games. Several pre-Olympic practices at the Sydney International Regatta Center were scrubbed and alternate plans were made to hold time trials instead of races for rowing.
But things went fine for the eight days of rowing and there were few problems during the first five days of canoe-kayak.
Olympic Kayaking
