Gold Medalist Jessica Fox of Team Australia poses on the podium. GETTY IMAGES

Australia's Jessica Fox delivered a near-perfect performance to win gold in the women’s K1 final at the Vaires-sur-Marne sailing stadium. This victory marks her first gold in this discipline and adds to her impressive collection of five Olympic medals.

Fox previously earned gold in C1 at Tokyo 2020 and has secured silver in K1 at London 2012 and bronze at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Last Friday she was Australia's flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. Today's competition began with the qualifying phase, where the 12 best paddlers advanced to the final. 



The key to success in the initial session was completing the course without penalties. Paddlers faced a two-second penalty for touching a gate and a 50-second penalty for skipping one. Fox committed just one infraction during qualification, finishing eighth with a time of 104.38 seconds.

In the final, which took place two hours later, paddlers raced in reverse order of their qualifying times. Fox delivered a sensational run, navigating all 23 gates cleanly, including the challenging upstream sections. Her final time of 96.08 seconds set a benchmark that proved unbeatable.

Poland's Klaudia Zwolinska claimed the silver medal, while Great Britain's Kimberley Fox took bronze. Despite the strong performances from her competitors, Jessica Fox's time ensured her the gold, making her the standout winner of the event.



No one could surpass Jessica Fox's time, which set the excitement soaring at the Vaires-sur-Marne sailing stadium. The crowd was especially enthusiastic for Camille Prigent, the French representative, but despite strong support, she did not secure a medal. Italian paddler Stefanie Horn and Brazilian Ana Satila both delivered faster times, edging out the local favorite.

With the top three from the qualification still to compete, Great Britain's Kimberley Woods took her turn. Although she improved on her previous time, finishing with 98.94 seconds, nearly a second faster than her qualifying run, she couldn’t quite reach the medal stand.

Poland's Klaudia Zwolinska followed, starting with a promising lead over Fox. Despite a strong beginning, Zwolinska faced challenges in the latter part of the course, particularly through the difficult gates. She completed her run with a time of 97.53 seconds, improving her qualification time by more than two seconds. Though her performance earned her a well-deserved silver medal, it was not enough to claim gold.

The podium of the Canoe Slalom. GETTY IMAGES
The podium of the Canoe Slalom. GETTY IMAGES

With only Germany's Ricarda Funk remaining, the final moments of the women’s K1 were highly anticipated. Funk, who had topped the first phase with a time of 99.31 seconds, needed to improve by over three seconds to clinch gold. She started strongly, surpassing Fox’s initial split times. However, a mistake at gate 14 and a subsequent missed gate derailed her run and ended her medal hopes.

At that moment, Jessica Fox and her team erupted in celebration. The gold medal was finally hers, marking the pinnacle of her Olympic K1 career. Klaudia Zwolinska secured silver, the first Olympic medal of her career, while Kimberley Woods earned bronze, also achieving her first Olympic podium finish.