The king of kayak cross reigned supreme as Joe Clarke roared to a fourth consecutive kayak cross world title on the final day in Sydney.
Having won gold in the three previous editions of the event, Clarke entered the competition with a target on his back and delivered accordingly, taking gold over France’s Mathurin Madore and Czechia’s Matyas Novak.
It has not been smooth sailing to get there, with a silver medal in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last summer leaving Clarke wanting more.
And with a tough season up to this point, missing the first World Cups of the season due to the birth of his daughter Daisy, and not able to progress in the men’s K1 earlier in the week, it made victory even sweeter for the now four-time kayak cross world champion.
“It was a dream to come here to retain that title after getting silver in the Games last year,” he said.
“To compete on the biggest stage at the Olympics is massive but then I actually took some time off afterwards, so, I’ve been working towards this.
“I had my second child at the start of the year, and I missed the first three World Cups, so I have kind of been finding my feet the second half of the season.
“But it seems like I found them now.”
Starting on the outside of the ramp in the final, Clarke didn’t get the best jump but quickly took the lead in a speedy start before expertly navigating the first upstream with little difficulty.
And he was away from there, progressing down the course to extend his lead.
With a huge margin appearing between himself and second place, Clarke just had to keep a steady head and continue to deliver the performance of a lifetime as he left his opponents in the whitewash, steering around the final upstream gate before propelling himself over the finish in emphatic fashion.
“I came today with a point to prove and I think I’ve done that,” he added.
“To take a fourth world title, I’m stuck for words, and I can’t wait to get home and celebrate with the family.”
Elsewhere in the men’s event, Sam Leaver won his heat to reach the quarterfinals, but narrowly missed out on a spot in the semi-finals after finishing third behind Germany’s Noah Hegge and France’s Titouan Castryck.
Jonny Dickson did not progress from the heats after finishing third.
After reaching the women’s semi-finals, Nikita Setchell found herself back on the start line for the small final and soared to victory on the water.
Setchell beat German duo Ricarda Funk and Andrea Herzog to seal the deal, with Evy Leibfarth of the USA coming in for fourth.
Back on the water after winning a stunning silver the previous day, Kimberley Woods just missed out on reaching the kayak cross semi-finals, finishing third in her quarter-final to Spain’s Maialen Chourraut and Funk.
Lois Lever did not progress, finishing fourth in her morning heat.