Mallory Franklin (Windsor) and Kimberley Woods (Rugby) claimed a sensational British medal one-two on day four of the 2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, dominating the home waters of the Lee Valley White Water Centre in the women's canoe to push the team's medal tally to five with gold and silver respectively.
Franklin and Woods three days ago were joining forces to claim women's canoe team gold at Lee Valley and in their very next final in the individual event were a cut above their global rivals storming to gold and silver respectively with over five seconds separating the top two and the rest of the field.
World champion individually in 2017 and an Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo, Franklin was the fourth of the ten athletes to go in the final and threw down the gauntlet with her run, going completely clean and setting a ferocious pace as she stopped the clock in an impressive time of 108.05 seconds.
No one was able to respond thereafter, although Woods gave it an almighty go with her run in front of a partisan home crowd – ahead of her British teammate in the first two splits through 11 gates before crossing the finish line in a time of 108.47, just 0.42 shy of a second gold medal at the Championships.
For Woods it marks her maiden individual World Championship medal in the women's canoe event – a year on from fourth at the last global gathering and eight on from fourth the last time they were held at Lee Valley – while in the men's canoe final British teammate Adam Burgess (Stafford and Stone) produced a fine run to place a valiant fifth in a time of 99.80.
The British team now sits on five medals – two gold, two silver and one bronze – in total with two days still to go at the Championships and also having secured an Olympic quota place in the women's canoe event for Paris 2024, subject to confirmation, courtesy of the performances from Franklin and Woods.
Mallory Franklin said:
It is my second world title in C1 and that means a lot. I tend to do it at some point in an Olympic cycle so that is cool to have done it. Being at home adds another level to it. Having the crowd and being able to have some of my family here. It adds pressure but also adds that feeling that when you do it, it means so much more.
“I was pretty sure Kimberley was going to go in ahead of me and she is probably getting annoyed at the number of times she slips in just behind me. She did an amazing run and she showed how good we are on this course as a nation and the depth that we have at C1.
“I am really happy for her that she has got the silver.”
It was clear from early on how good Franklin's run in the women's canoe final was going to be – two seconds up on the previous leader at the time after the top section before a great exit at upstream gate 11 added even more distance to her lead.
Franklin continued her excellent run and by gate 19 was almost eight seconds clear before battling through the final two gates to stop the clock clean at 108.05 – which was not just the quickest time of the final so far but quicker than anything recorded in the semi-finals.
It proved to be a formidable time with only British teammate Woods and Jessica Fox of Australia coming within a second of Franklin with 0.89 separating the top three and then almost another five seconds before fourth.
Mallory Franklin said: “There was definitely some time left in it, especially near the bottom. It felt like a fight at times and there were some really good bits. All in all it was good. I wasn't expecting the time to be that, given what was done in the semis. I was a bit ‘ugh' at the finish thinking someone might beat that. It is really cool. I don't think it has really sunk in yet.
“For me – and what this race means on the outside – it's not just worlds, it's part of our Olympic selection, senior selection and quotas and all of that. Making the final was the hard thing but once I got there, that was done. There is a little bit in there for me in the crowd and how everyone gets up for it – in a final you are just trying to win a medal.”
Woods was the seventh paddler of the ten to go in the women's canoe final. She picked up where she left off and was brilliant through the first five gates, building a lead of over a second from Franklin as she went in pursuit of gold. At the second split after gate 11 that lead was slightly down to 0.89 but Woods was looking very strong.
A great last set of gates set her up for a challenge at the line for gold as she crossed in 108.47 for silver – just 0.42 shy of gold – but with another chance to come at Lee Valley with her and Franklin also through to the women's kayak semi-finals.
Kimberley Woods said:
“I am someone who shows a lot of emotion on my face and I am crying because I am so happy. I was in the start blocks and I had a thought to myself that ‘this is the World Championships, this is what it all means'. I really enjoyed that run. I did catch my blade a little bit so I was a little bit scared but I pushed it really hard.
I am someone who shows a lot of emotion on my face and I am crying because I am so happy. I was in the start blocks and I had a thought to myself that ‘this is the World Championships, this is what it all means'. I really enjoyed that run. I did catch my blade a little bit so I was a little bit scared but I pushed it really hard.
“It is a shame that I couldn't claim that world title off Mallory but it is great to have a British one-two at home. I've come fourth and fifth and sixth so many times – I was fourth here last time eight years ago – to be on the podium again, I am so pleased.
“It's really important in terms of the quota spaces and Olympic selection and proving to British Canoeing that we should be there at the Games. I had quite a funny joke with my coach that I've finished fourth three times this week [in heats and semi-finals] so it would be good to at least go one more.”
Moments after the British one-two in the women's canoe, Burgess was out in the men's canoe final and he was extremely slick at the top, going through the first seven gates just 0.33 behind the leader at the time Nicola Gestin of France.
That deficit increased to just shy of a second at the next split but Burgess battled valiantly to keep it in check and would cross the finish line in 99.80, briefly placing him in bronze medal position before an eventual ranking of fifth.
Burgess was part of the men's canoe team that won silver on day one and ends these Championships advancing out of the semi-finals in sixth and finishing as the top home paddler.
Adam Burgess said: “I obviously would have loved to have won here in front of a home crowd. I am proud of how I put myself into a position to fight for a medal after the semi-final and the final run mostly went a little bit better. I just had to adapt which slowed me down in a couple of areas.
“To be the top Brit today and be in the World Championship final goes a long way to securing my spot for Paris. It is still a tight race but I am hoping this is enough today to convince the panel that I don't miss. I am in every single final. That is three World Championships – four finals including the Olympics – in a row and hopefully they take that into consideration.
“I totally believe I can do it [medal]. I felt if everything today went to plan in my run, I am quick enough on this course to put it out of sight. I am maybe a little unfortunate that we are in an incredible era of C1 men's canoe. The top 20 are all capable of winning races and it is a privilege to be among them.”
Burgess was joined in the men's canoe semi-finals at the start of the day by teammate Ryan Westley (Lower Wharfe), who went out ahead of his fellow Brit and quickly recovered from a penalty at gate three.
Westley kept a tight line in the middle section of the course as he sought to keep pace for the top ten with the European Games champion from earlier in the summer crossing in a time of 101.29, which placed him eighth.
A wait ensued to see if that would be enough for the final and it could have hardly been more tight with Westley eventually ranking one place outside the top ten in 11th with just 0.07 the difference from being in and out.
British team medal tally:
Gold (2): Women's canoe team, Mallory Franklin [Women's canoe]
Silver (2): Men's canoe team, Kimberley Woods [Women's canoe]
Bronze (1): Women's kayak team
How to follow?
BBC – 22 – 24 September
The canoe slalom semi-finals and finals and the kayak cross action will be live on the BBC Red Button and iPlayer.
FRIDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER
C1 semi-finals 1000-1210 BST
C1 finals 1330-1515 BST (not Red Button)
SATURDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER
K1 semi-finals 1000-1230 BST
K1 finals 1330-1515 BST
SUNDAY 24th SEPTEMBER
Kayak Cross finals 1330-1515 BST
Tickets
And of course, there's no better way to catch all the action than live at the venue.
Get your tickets now for the 2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at the iconic Lee Valley White Water Centre from 19-24 September.
From as little as £1, join us and experience the thrill of the action as GB's top stars, including Mallory Franklin and Joe Clarke MBE, take on the best in the world on home turf.
British quota places for the Paris 2024 Olympics are up for grabs too.
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You can also keep up to date with the action on the British Canoeing channels, as well as start-lists and live results here from the Planet Canoe website