Mallory Franklin and Joe Clarke MBE secured their places in the final stages of the Paris 2024 Olympics after progressing through their respective heats.
The pair both finished top six on day four in the French capital, opening their account for the Games and booking their spot on the semi-final start lists over the next two days.
The duo took to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium for the first time off the back of a successful start, with TeamGB banking two Olympic medals so far thanks to Kimberley Woods’ bronze and a silver for Adam Burgess.
Similar to the opening day of racing, athletes each had two runs on the Paris course, with their best time going towards qualification.
Tokyo silver medallist Franklin eased through the women’s canoe heats as she secured a sixth-place finish.
Part of the field three years ago who were part of the inaugural women’s canoe at an Olympic Games, she went in search of the fast time set by Andorran Monica Doria Vilarrubla.
It was clear from the beginning that Franklin had pace on the French waters, showing as four seconds up on the first split.
The Windsor and District paddler did lose a bit of time in the move between gates 7 and 8, clipping the former to add two seconds to her time before dropping deep on the move.
Franklin had more than enough time in the bank and the 2023 World Champion regained her composure to deliver a strong time of 104.72, which placed her fifth and well within qualification.
Gabriel Stakova was top of the standings as Franklin, who already knew she’d qualified, took to her second heats.
Quickest at the top split again as well as cleaning up the gate 7 and 8 move, Franklin thought she’d shaved two seconds off her time to post 102.41.
The judges did give the 30-year-old a late 50-second penalty on gate 23 however, meaning she took her first time through to ease to tomorrow’s semi-finals in sixth.
Franklin said:
“I just needed to progress through today. I was a bit tactical today knowing I had the pace to get through, so just wanted to crack some of the moves.
“It was great learning today. I know I’ve got the pace so if I can keep my head straight and deliver tomorrow, then who knows what can happen.
“We know there’s a lot in the course. There’s potential for a really quick run. For me it’s producing a clear plan tomorrow that I’m confident in and can attack to see what happens.
“It’s been great to see Adam and Kimberley win medals and I’m delighted they got to experience that. It’s a great inspiration to try and join them.
“It’s cool to see what we as a nation are capable of. We will see what happens in the next few days.”
Rio Olympic Champion Clarke needed the second run to ensure his place in the latter stages of the men’s kayak on Thursday, as he qualified in fourth.
Cheered on loudly by the Brits on the bank side, he put together a very nice first run to initially go into fifth place.
Frustratingly for the Stafford & Stone athlete, he was judged to have missed gate six late on, adding 50 seconds to his time.
The 2023 World Champion showed no fear on his second run however, powering down the course as he chased the 80-second time set by home favourite Titouan Castryck.
Close at the first split, Clarke was determined in his approach to set an impressive time as he navigated the course strongly.
He did pick up a late touch on gate 20, but his trademark pace more than absorbed that as he slotted into fourth spot and into the semi-finals in 85.62.
Speaking after the second run, Clarke said:
“Obviously I know I’m capable of making the semi-final but knowing you can, and actually doing it are two different things. Especially with the crowd and the media.
“I ticked the box and got the job done. It wasn’t my finest hour but there was more than enough to qualify.
“I stayed calm, reminded myself I know what I’m doing, I’ve been here before.
“I was in exactly the same situation in Rio and went on to win the gold, so it means nothing.
“It’s another run under pressure which is exactly what Thursday is going to be.
“Pressure is a privilege. There’s a reason you have pressure and that’s because everyone thinks you’re the one to be beaten.
“I started this sport loving it on day one, and 20 years later I’m still loving it. That’s how I get my best results and the crowd fired me up.”
Franklin is next up for TeamGB as she lines up in the women’s canoe semi-finals tomorrow, whilst Clarke gets a day’s rest before he battles the latter stages of the men’s kayak on Thursday.
How to Watch
The BBC will bring you extensive coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics across TV, iPlayer, Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app.
Broadcaster Discovery+ is the rights holder for Paris 2024 and is showing every moment of the Games in the UK.
This includes ALL of the canoe slalom action.
Across the Discovery+ app and Eurosport channels in the UK, more than 3,800 hours of live coverage will be aired in total from 07:00 to 22:30 BST each day.
Discovery+ and Eurosport requires a subscription. You can find more information here.