Team GB athletes Mallory Franklin Kimberley Woods Joe Clarke MBE and Adam Burgess all progressed through to the heats of the kayak cross on day eight of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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Following the time trials yesterday, the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium witnessed the first head-to-head racing in round 1 of the kayak cross, making its debut in the Olympic Games.
With four paddlers launched from a ramp, round 1 head-to-head races saw the first two across the line qualify directly for Sunday’s heats, with the remaining athletes given a second chance to stay in the competition in the repechage.
First up for Team GB was 2022 World Cup series winner Mallory Franklin, pictured above, who on Friday produced a strong time-trial to be seeded in third place for the women’s event.
Mallory selected the far right lane on the ramp, and led from the front with a strong start leading into the first gate.
The Windsor & District athlete went to the left hand side to take the first upstream gate and moved clear from Lena Teunissen and Yazawa Aki to win race 3 and qualify comfortably.
Speaking after qualifying Mallory Franklin said:
“It doesn’t really matter if you finish first or second, and you’ve got the repechage if you bomb out as well. So it’s not got the most on in.
“But I think to come in and take the lead and keep a good number from my time trial will be good for the next rounds. It will be good fun and a fight.”
Next on the ramp was World number 1 and 2023 kayak cross World Champion, Kimberley Woods, fresh from her bronze medal in the women’s individual kayak.
Seeded 16th after the time-trials, Kimberley also went from the far right lane and showed great speed and power to take an early commanding lead.
With Ana Satila and Martina Wegman caught in a battle for second place, Kimberley extended her lead and ensured a smooth progression into Sunday’s heats.
In the men’s kayak cross first up for Team GB was three-time kayak cross World Champion Joe Clarke, seeded number 1 after topping the standings in the time-trials.
The Stafford and Stone athlete cruised into the heats,with a dominant and composed performance.
Also starting on the right of the ramp, Joe was metres ahead of Salim Jemai and Casey Eichfeld as he approached the first gate, before pacing his way down the 210 metre course to claim victory.
Stafford and Stone teammate Adam Burgess was making his debut in kayak cross, and qualified in 26th place in the time-trial. But a tough draw in round 1 saw Adam finish in fourth place and go into the repechage.
Adam was drawn with fellow canoeists Liam Jegou and Casey Eichfeld in repechage race 3, but the individual silver medallist was back in third place halfway down the course.
At gate 5 Jegou and Eichfeld missed the turn and Adam grabbed the opportunity to secure second place and a berth in Sunday’s heats.
Adam, Joe, Kimberley and Mallory will all return to Vaires-sur-Marne tomorrow afternoon at 14:30 BST to race in the heats of the kayak cross, looking to secure a place in Monday’s quarter finals.
Check out the full results and draws for tomorrow’s heats on the Paris 2024 website:
Men’s Kayak Cross
Women’s Kayak Cross
Further information can be found on the Paddle UK Paris 2024 website
You can catch the Team GB kayak cross team on Eurosport 1, Discovery+ and BBC One throughout the day.
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 and kayak cross 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.