Mallory Franklin continues to set the standard for British canoeists to follow, a composed display in the K1 final earning her fourth medal of the season at World Cup 2.
The Ascot racer negotiated all 18 gates safely and registered a 108.56 run in Augsburg, where the sport made its Olympic debut in 1972.
Franklin’s spin out of the 15th gate was especially pleasing – drawing oohs and aahs from the home crowd – and she pipped Slovenian Eva Tercelj to silver by 0.30 seconds.
But overhauling eight-time World Champion Jessica Fox proved out of her reach and the Australian claimed gold by a margin of 6.46 seconds.
The 24-year-old has defied difficult conditions in Germany, finishing a superb third in her semi-final earlier on Saturday morning and sixth in her Friday heat.
This follows a C1 silver at the first leg of the World Cup series in Liptovsky, her campaign going from strength to strength after two triumphs at the European Championships in June.
The British contingent in Saturday’s other final, the C1 men, acquitted themselves well with sixth and seventh placed finishes respectively for Exeter’s Ryan Westley and Adam Burgess.
First on the water, Westley’s 105.98 run with one penalty kept him on the podium until late in the day and Stone-born Burgess built on his eighth-placed effort at World Cup 2 in Krakow last week
Krakow gold medallist Joe Clarke goes again in the K1 semi-finals from 9:40 tomorrow morning, where he’ll be joined on the water by Bradley Forbes-Cryans and Chris Bowers.
Franklin will bid to add to her medal haul in her canoe semi at 8:43 on Sunday alongside Kimberley Woods. Sportsbeat 2018