Kimberley Woods and Lois Leaver earned the first medals of the Slalom World Cup Final today in Augsburg, Germany.
Winning kayak gold at two consecutive World Cups, Kim expertly maneuvered her boat, battling the fast water with the nose down. She gained a second through splits one and two, delivering a gutsy performance that just got better.
“Three runs today, it’s hard to do that, but run after run I just got better and better,” says Kim.
“I’m a bit speechless, hopefully I’ve not peaked too early before the World Championships but I’ve got a lot of confidence now going into next month’s race.”
Her win today also saw her secure the overall women’s kayak World Cup title after two back to back golds in the category.
“I’m pretty buzzed, I think the highest I’ve ever come in the overall kayak was eighth and I was happy with that considering the field at the moment,” says Kim.
“I put myself in contention last weekend but to back it up is something else.”
It was bronze for Lois, earning her second medal. She showed determination after a touch on gate six and going in deep on gate nine. She corrected herself and powered through to come third.
“I just feel really pleased. I definitely felt a bit shaky at the top of that run, it wasn’t flowing as nice as my semis run so I’m just really pleased for it to come together in the bottom half.”
Lois bagged herself second overall in the women’s kayak overall standings after three bronze medals across the World Cup series.
The course, featuring 25 gates and a lengthy layout, presented a significant contrast to Tacen, shown in the day’s recorded times.
A stagger between gate 11 and 13 saw many lower ranking athletes struggle, a few picking up 50-second penalties during the women’s kayak heats.
Lois delivered an exceptional performance during the semi-finals, executing a fast and impeccably clean run. She secured second place to qualify for the finals.
Heats saw Lois keep a cool head during her run, even after a slight error on gate eight caused her to slow down. She quickly recovered, avoiding a penalty, and proceeded smoothly through her third split, earning a total of six seconds in penalties throughout her run.
Kim tackled the semi-final with snappy moves. Despite a touch at the second gate due to being slightly wide, she recovered in splits three and four, ultimately finishing in third place.
She threw down a risky but controlled run during heats, using it to feel out the course. She initially clocked the fastest first split despite adding four seconds with touches on gates two and three.
Nikita Setchell narrowly missed a spot in the final, finishing 14th after incurring four seconds of penalties due to touches on gates eight and 18.
She had a strong start in her heat run, similar to Kim, and navigated section one effectively. However, she incurred a two-second penalty at both gate 11 and gate 21.
Joe Clarke MBE paddled smoothly through split one, although a touch on gate 19 cost him a two second penalty. He finished in 21st place but will be back for kayak cross on Sunday, aiming for another medal after he won the time trial gold last week in Tacen.
The heat saw Joe remain calm when his run became tricky. After a touch on gate eight, Joe found himself stuck coming into upstream gate nine. He managed to reset well and avoid any further penalties.
Jonny Dickson took a risky approach by taking gate 11 forward instead of playing it safe and going backward like his competitors. This resulted in a 50-second penalty for gate 14 and he ultimately finished 26th.
During his heat run Jonny started incredibly fast, completing a flawless heat run. He secured his spot in the semi-finals by finishing eighth.
Ben Haylett incurred an initial penalty at gate 14, followed by another post-run penalty for gate seven. Despite these setbacks, he demonstrated an impressive final split and expertly navigated upstream gate 25, narrowly missing the semi-finals by just 0.45 seconds.
The competition continues tomorrow with the canoe events featuring Adam Burgess, Kimberley Woods, Ryan Westley, Bethan Forrow, Luc Royle, and Ellis Miller.
Racing begins at 08:55 (BST) tomorrow with the women’s canoe heats.
The livestream is available for members of the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
Follow along with the results here.