It was a sensational day of slalom in La Seu with Ryan Westley (Lower Wharf) winning the C1M silver medal – and third place overall – with Kimberley Woods winning C1W bronze on day three of the final ICF World Cup.
The first athlete in the men’s final to go down the 1992 Olympic course, Ryan set down a marker which looked like it would go uncontested as the following 8 athletes didn’t get within 2 seconds of his time.
Despite picking up a penalty on gate 4, the last paddler to go was the local, Miguel Trave who, cheered on by the partisan crowd, had a phenomenal run to take the gold medal pushing Ryan back to silver.
But the silver lining for Ryan was his result meant he finished in third place in the overall season standings.
He said: “I’ve come fourth or fifth in the last three world cups here, so this was definitely my best final.
“I made a small mistake in the middle but most of it I felt really happy with.
“I love racing here, so to be able to race in that final and put down a run like that is cool. I really enjoy paddling this course. It’s small and technical with lots of walls and fiddly bits.
“To get my first medal here is really great.
“I was really disappointed last weekend in Ivrea, missing the Olympics then coming back to race badly wasn’t enjoyable so to come here and get a much better result was great and it’s my first time on the overall World Cup Podium too.”
Kimberley Woods, who was this week granted the Freedom of Rugby, picked up three penalties in the semi-final, but her boat speed was enough for her to qualify in the top ten.
There were no such mistakes in the final though and a jubilant Kimberley crossed the line more than six seconds faster than the standards set by Viktoriia Us and Majorie Delassus.
Kimberley remained in first place until Olympic Champion Jessica Fox put down a phenomenal run to go two seconds clear. A late challenge by Gabriela Satkova pushed Kimberley into third place and, for a moment, it looked like she might finish in fourth place but for the late confirmation of a penalty for Monica Doria.
Having medalled last weekend in the same event, Kimberley was delighted to be on the podium once again.
“When I was still sitting in first place with five really good athletes still to go I felt conflicted. I’d be disappointed if I didn’t medal but I was really happy with my run. It’s great to finish off my international canoe slalom season on the podium.
“I knew when I finished that it was a good time, given the timings from the semifinals. I went out there and attacked the race how I wanted to. I’m really proud of that and I was happy to scrape the medal.
“For the kayak cross tomorrow I’m just hoping to go out there and make good decisions. Kayak cross is way more competitive this season so I just want to go out hard and enjoy it.”
Windsor’s Mallory Franklin was also in action in the C1W final. Despite an early touch, she was still in contention for the podium at the halfway point but an error in the unforgiving course meant she finished in 10th place.
Ellis Miller (Lee Valley Paddlesports) finished in 20th place in the semi-final.
Paris 2024 silver medallist Adam Burgess finished in 19th place in the men’s semi-final with his Stafford and Stone teammate Kurts Adam Rozentals in 20th.
The final day of racing tomorrow will see all of the kayak cross boats in action, with the time trials starting at 0845 UK time.
The full results can be found here.
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