Kimberley Woods won gold in the women’s kayak event on the first day of the Slalom World Cup in Tacen, Slovenia, which was marked by stormy weather.
In an incredible final run, Kim secured the gold medal with a time of 79.69 seconds, making her one of only two female athletes to complete the course in under 80 seconds.
Despite the drop start causing an early mistake at the first gate, Kim demonstrated remarkable resilience to reset, achieving the fastest time through section one and delivering a truly standout performance.
“After the tiny mistake at gate one, all I was focussing on was getting back into the flow of it. I really enjoy that next move, it feels really good when you get it so that was all I was thinking about,” says Kim.
“I got back into the rhythm again and I just wanted to attack the run. I feel like I’ve been on the safe side in a lot of my runs this year with the new format. I knew I needed to push at the back end of this season and so I’ve worked really hard during the summer.
“Being able to reset, even after that touch during the heats, I just had a lot of trust and belief that I could still make it and I wanted to finish as high as I possibly could.
“I’m really happy that I was able to paddle how I wanted to, attack it how I wanted to and make all the improvements to go faster on that second run. It’s not really hit me yet that it’s my first ever win in kayak.”
Eight years on since her last kayak medal, Kim will take this success into another two days of competing.
“I’ll be taking away a bit of confidence, just really focussing on those first two moves. I know that there is a lot more to it than that, and to feel confident going down that top drop.
“I’ve been doing it really well all week and I just want to showcase the sport and how beautiful this venue is,” added Kim.
“It is very tricky but my strength is being adaptable and attacking it. C1 might be a little more difficult with more decisions to make but I’m really looking forward to getting on the water again tomorrow.
“Hopefully the rain stops and we’ll have fresher air and some more sunshine over the next two days.”
Lois Leaver improved on her heat time with a clean run of 85.55 in the women’s kayak final. Her controlled and precise performance secured her seventh place as the second athlete to compete.
The heats at Tacen featured a technically demanding course. A particularly challenging section near the bottom required athletes to lift their boat over a white water feature to gain speed, then immediately lower it to avoid poles.
Gate 11 proved difficult for the British team, with all but one athlete incurring a two-second penalty there.
Kim soared through her heat with a time of 83.04 putting her in third. She started her run well, with the third fastest time through section one before gaining a two-second penalty at gate 11.
Lois Leaver finished her heat in 11th place with a time of 85.69. She incurred a two-second penalty at gate six for clipping the pole with her kayak’s nose, followed by a second penalty at gate 11.
Despite the penalties, Lois completed the final section of her run with the second fastest time.
Ben Haylett delivered the sole clean run for the British team in the men’s kayak heats, with an impressive time of 75.49 seconds.
He showcased speed and finesse in section two, recording the fifth fastest time in that segment. He finished 15th overall, just missing out on a place in the finals by 0.2 seconds.
Nikita Setchell narrowly missed a spot in the final, finishing 17th in her heat, just under two seconds shy. She will compete again on Sunday in kayak cross.
Despite receiving a four-second penalty for touching gates two and 11, Nikita demonstrated exceptional speed in section three, completing it in 13.70 seconds, the fastest among all kayakers.
Jonny Dickson followed Ben down the course, finishing 32nd with a time of 80.61 after touching gate 11 with his paddle and incurring another penalty on gate 13.
Joe Clarke MBE started his run strongly, aiming for a spot in the finals with the quickest time in the first section. However, a mistake on the challenging 11th gate resulted in a 50-second penalty. This dropped him from third to 58th place, with a total time of 123.79.
Tomorrow will see the canoe events. Kimberley Woods will be back on the water, this time accompanied by Adam Burgess, Ellis Miller, Ryan Westley, Bethan Forrow, and Luc Royle.
The livestream is available for members through Planet Canoe YouTube.
Follow along with the live results here.