Kimberley Woods upgraded her Olympic bronze to World Championships silver on an historic performance in Sydney.
On the same course where Paul Ratcliffe won K1 silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Woods matched his efforts in the discipline with a brilliant showing.
The 30-year-old finished in a time of 102.09 seconds, finishing just 1.77 seconds behind world champion Klaudia Zwolinska of Poland.
It could have been an even better day, with a touch on gate 12 costing Woods two seconds and ending up being the difference between gold and silver.
She said: “I think that touch is going to haunt me for a little bit. It was very slight and I was hoping that maybe they didn’t see it because it is a bit windy. But I’m absolutely thrilled, and Klaudia has been on top form this weekend.”
This medal continues a stellar second half to the season for Woods, who won three World Cup golds in the space of a week at the end of August and start of September in Tacen and Augsburg.
She had qualified with the fourth fastest time for the final, admitting that she had been a little out of sorts in the semi-final.
But a little motivation from listening to Golden by KPop Demon Hunters was all that she needed for inspiration.
She added: “This whole event has been amazing, and I can’t wait for tomorrow now.
“Once I knew I was in the final, my energy came, I heard one of my race songs which has geared me up for the last half of the season, I felt really good vibes. I really attacked it, I felt like my reset after my touch was amazing and I feel really proud to have handled it the way I did.
“I had nothing left in my arms at the finish line which is what I wanted to do.”
Woods will now turn her attention to the kayak cross on the final day of competition in Australia, an event in which she is the reigning world champion – having also won bronze in Paris last summer.
Elsewhere in the women’s K1, Lois Leaver finished 18th in the semi-final in 111.08 seconds, while Nikita Setchell was 20th in 113.18 seconds with both falling short of the final in a competitive field.
And it was a similar story for Jonny Dickson in the men’s K1 as he finished 18th in the semi-final in a time of 97.67 seconds.
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