Olympic champion Joe Clarke sealed another successful day at the first Canoe Slalom World Cup event of the season, claiming a bronze medal in the K1 event in Slovakia.
And he was not the only Brit to finish on the podium on the final day in Liptovsky Mikulas, with Mallory Franklin also picking up bronze in the women’s C1 final.
Clarke, who won gold at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, progressed to the final as the fifth fastest qualifier (94.61s) earlier in the day, with Jiri Prskavec setting the pace in 92.41s.
But the 25-year-old delivered when it really mattered in the final to claim the last podium place in 93.01s, edging Prskavec (94.37s) into fourth after the Czech picked up four time penalties.
Only Poland’s Dariusz Popiela and Germany’s Sebastian Schubert were quicker than Clarke, with the latter taking the gold medal in a time of 92.06. “After my run I was thinking I would end up fourth or fifth,” said Clarke afterwards. “I’d done a run I was satisfied with and I’d certainly performed a lot better than I had at the Europeans in Prague, and I knew there was plenty of time in it still. “You never wish for other people to go badly and you just have to watch and wait. “But it’s great to be on the podium because last season was a bit of a less serious season for me and I hadn’t done all the training. “I knew I was in really good shape so it’s nice when all the hard work comes to fruition and the podiums start coming.”
The 2017 World Champion eased through the semi-finals to qualify second fastest in 116.28s, with only Australia’s Jessica Fox finishing ahead of her in a time of 114.29s. Franklin was unable to repeat her flawless performance in the first session and picked up four time penalties, but the 24-year-old still managed to claim the last podium spot.
She finished the final in 115.10s as Czech Republic’s Tereza Fiserova pipped her to second in a time of 113.96s, while Fox maintained her qualifying form to win gold in 106.34s.
“I had a few very slight touches which wasn't ideal but it's nice to be back on the podium,” said Franklin, who won silver at the European Championships in Prague earlier this month. “Admittedly I’m not quite as happy as I would like to be in my paddling but I’m spitting out good results and I’ll slowly gain confidence in that."
Fellow Brit Kimberley Woods was not far behind Franklin, with her four time penalties costing her a place on the podium as she finished in fourth in a time of 118.54.
The double bronze success for Britain came after Ryan Westley claimed Great Britain’s first Canoe Slalom World Cup medal of the 2018 season on day two with another bronze the men’s C1 event.
The second leg of the World Cup will take place in Krakow, Poland next weekend. Sportsbeat 2018