There was a sixth place finish for Kimberley Woods in a tense women's kayak final at the opening World Cup of the season in Augsburg, Germany.
Selected to represent TeamGB in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Woods attacked the final with intent as she hunted down Stefanie Horn's leading time.
Up on the first split, Woods' speed was clearly there, but a slight touch on the troublesome gate 12 gave the Rugby athlete some work to do on the final section of the course.
She kept the remainder clean, but crossed the line into second place just 0.2 behind the Italian.
Some impressive runs followed as her time of 112.49 saw her finish in sixth place overall.
Pleased to reach her first final of the season, Woods said:
“A bit of mixed emotions for me. I was delighted to be in that final. It obviously didn't play out how I wanted it to in that final, but I did find time from my semi-final. There was some great runs in that final too.
“I am happy to be have been in that final and it’s a good start to the World Cup series.
“I've been trying to keep my confidence there and after a bad race at the European Championships and a bad heats here in Augsburg, I really brought it back to show I'm still fighting for those medals.
“I've still got more to come. I've built through the rounds and made sure I attack it well.
“I'm looking forward to the kayak cross on Sunday. I'll get onto the start-line for the time-trials and then take each round as it comes.”
Fresh from winning her 18th European medal a fortnight ago, MalloryFranklin (Windsor & District) was putting together a really nice semi-final run in a bid to join Woods in the final.
In touching distance of her British teammate, Franklin sadly flipped the boat heading into gate 19 which lost her a lot of time. She kept her run clean, but finished in 19th place.
Lois Leaver (Edinburgh Schools) started strong in her semi-final run.
Sadly for the Scottish athlete, her head just went the wrong side of downstream gate 10 which took her out of the running for a final place.
Gate touches proved costly for the British trio representing in the men's kayak semi-finals this afternoon.
Jonny Dickson (CR Cats) was the highest placed of the Brits as he finished 20th.
The 2023 World Cup silver medallist was quick in his pursuit of the top ten, but a knock on gate 12 took him out of reach of the final.
Fastest qualifier yesterday, Paris 2024 bound Joe Clarke MBE (Stafford & Stone) took an early penalty on gate 2 which he was trying to absorb with his trademark pace.
Further penalties on gates 9 and 17 took the final out of the reach for Clarke, who won World Cup silver on this course last season, as he placed 29th overall.
Chris Bowers (Stafford & Stone) also enjoyed an impressive heats yesterday, but two touches on 3 and 16, plus lost time elsewhere on the course sadly pushed the 25-year-old into 32nd place.
This morning, British trio Mallory Franklin, Ellis Miller (Lee Valley) and Phoebe Spicer (Lee Valley) all booked their place in tomorrow’s women’s canoe semi-finals.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, Franklin secured a top three finish as she prepares to race the Olympic event for the second time at Paris2024.
Her top half pace was quickest of the day, and despite two seconds added for touching gate 12, she eased through to the next stage in 113.51.
Miller too secured her spot tomorrow at the first attempt.
A full senior team debutant this season, it was a great, clean run from the 22-year-old as she posted 123.29 to squeeze through in 20th place.
First off for the day, Phoebe Spicer (Lee Valley) required a second run to qualify after missing out on the top 20 during her first effort.
Learning from the earlier run, Spicer shaved nearly ten seconds off her earlier performance to finish a comfortable fifth place in a clean time of 121.27
Adam Burgess (Stafford & Stone) and Ryan Westley (Lower Wharfe) both eased through the men's canoe heats to line up in tomorrow morning's semi-finals.
Preparing to take on his second Olympic Games in Paris this summer, Burgess delivered a impressive run to top the standings with five athletes remaining.
His clean time of 101.73 ultimately qualified him safely through in fourth.
2023 European Games Champion, Westley, showcased a great run overall to make the semi-finals. Much like Burgess, he was clean throughout to finish seventh in 103.35.
It wasn't to be for Kurts Adams Rozentals (Stafford & Stone) as penalties took him out the running during his first delivery. He cleaned up his second run to go penalty free, but unfortunately finished outside the top ten.