Mallory, Adam and Ryan bag some bling!

Today saw the business end of the first World Cup Slalom race take place. Medals for the C1M and K1W classes were all hard fought for. 

British Canoeing almost had a full contingent of paddlers securing their place in the finals; Kim Woods, Mallory Franklin, Adam Burgess, Ryan and David Florence were all set to fight out not only for the silverware in the early afternoon, but also compete for the all important Olympic selection points.

Fiona Pennie, didn’t quite have the semi run she was hoping for, losing time at the end of her run and missing out on a final spot. 

The C1M final was a fiercely fought affair, with an incredibly tight finish. The British chaps showed their true paddling class and home advantage on the tough Lee Valley Whitewater course.

David Florence finished a respectable 6th, although he’ll be disappointed after such a great showing in his heats run.

Ryan Westley secured a fabulous bronze medal, only 0.44seconds from 1st place. Adam Burgess went one better, narrowly missing out on the gold medal, by 0.07 seconds.  Sideris Tasiadis of Germany took the top spot. 

In the K1W final, Kim Woods had a few too many penalties to secure a medal today, finishing in an agonising 4th place.

The day belonged to Mallory Franklin. Mallory’s seemingly effortless paddling style, demonstrated to the rest of the field that she is a force to be reckoned with. Her gold medal topped off an amazing day for the British Team. 

Elsewhere in the final, Peak UK’s international paddlers had mixed fortunes with strong semi final runs but not the final runs to follow match. Franz Anton and Beni Savsek finished 8th and 10th in the final respectively. Denis Garnaud-Chanut and Michal Martikan will look to bounce back in future events, with 15th and 25th semi final place finishes. 

Tomorrow we’re see the C1W and K1M take on the finals course in their bid with secure medals and Olympic selection points.