Three British paddlers made finals on day three of the European Championships in Paris.
Ellis Miller made her first senior European final in the women’s C1 and was joined by Kimberley Woods, who also made the K1 final, while Ryan Westley finished seventh in the men’s C1.
Woods qualified in second for the morning’s women’s K1 final after a storming semi-final run but paid for missing gate 16 in the final, costing her a shot at a medal.
The 29-year-old, who won bronze in the event at the same venue at last summer’s Olympics, recovered in determined fashion to finish her run, coming home 12th in 112.99.
“Obviously I’m a bit gutted but I was really proud of my semi-final,” she said.
“That one curl didn’t take me left as I wanted it to and that’s where it really came away.
“I was trying hard to stay in it and get back to it. I reset well and tried to make the most of the next few gates ahead of me.
“I did alright, I pushed relatively hard to the finish knowing I was never going to get a medal. I wanted to be proud still and have the attitude to the run I wanted.
“It’s tight racing and you can’t make mistakes like I did in the final. But it’s my first race of the season and I’m looking forward to what the rest has to offer.”
Lois Leaver and Nikita Setchell missed out on the final, finishing 16th and 18th respectively.
Leaver clocked 99.88, leaving her 2.15 seconds adrift of the top 12, as time penalties at gates 9 and 17 proved costly. Setchell finished in 101.23.
In the men’s K1, Ben Haylett was just one position away from making the final in his first senior European Championships as he finished 13th in 85.08, just under four-tenths of a second outside the qualification spots.
Joe Clarke was 20th after posting a time of 86.49, with Jonny Dickson 24th in 88.76.
Both the men’s and women’s K1 races were won by Tokyo 2020 champions, with Jiri Prskavec and Ricarda Funk claiming the honours.
Woods was back in action during the afternoon’s C1 and qualified in 11th for the final, with Miller joining her a place further back in the last qualification place.
Miller had a nervous wait to see if she would make it through to her maiden senior European final but she stayed the right side of the dotted line after European champion Andrea Herzog, last to go in the semi-finals, paid for a mistake at gate 16 and missed out.
The British pair were the first two to go in the final and both paid for capsizing between gates six and seven as U23 European champion Miller finished 10th, with Woods 12th after suffering a 50-second penalty for missing gate 12.
Miller said: “I didn’t feel the most confident coming in but I was happy to put that run down in the semis.
“I wanted to really attack that final but it all unravelled from gate six with a capsize.
“This was one of my focus races of the season and I have my U23s to focus on as well. I’m happy to be in the final but it’s a shame I couldn’t put the run down I wanted to.”
The women’s C1 also saw Beth Forrow return to action for the first time since giving birth to her son, and the Hertfordshire paddler finished 21st overall.
Westley was GB’s sole competitor in the men’s C1 final and finished seventh in 94.34, picking up a two-second penalty at gate 7.
“I took some good learnings from the semi-final and made some time gains, but with a couple of sizable errors, it was never going to be enough,” Westley said.
“I don’t particularly enjoy paddling on this course so it’s nice to get this one out the way with a decent result. I prefer some of the races we’ve got coming up so I’ll look forward to that.
“It’s always hard first race of the season, you don’t know where you are at. I struggled trying to find my rhythm but felt I got closer on that final run so hopefully I can keep that going.”
Olympic silver medallist Adam Burgess finished 15th in 95.08 on his return to Vaires-sur-Narme, with Luc Royle in 19th after clipping two gates on his run.
Sunday sees kayak cross action take centre stage – you can view all the live results and the upcoming schedule here.
All the races are being streamed for free on the European Canoe Association YouTube channel.