TEAM GB added two more medals to their tally just minutes apart despite one Brit finishing FOURTH – in a mad sport dubbed “Mario Kart on boats”.
Olympics fans were going mad for the Kayak Cross which saw both Kimberley Woods and Joe Clarke breeze through to their respective finals.
Welcoming kayak cross to the Olympic stage
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 3, 2024
Mallory Franklin, Kimberley Woods, Joe Clarke and Adam Burgess all progress through to tomorrow's heats.#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/4ICOSxOvYQ
After getting through the quarters and semis, world champion Woods was first up in the women’s final and looked in control early on.
But she got caught up with a rival on the first upstream gate, allowing Aussie Noemie Fox to sneak ahead.
Woods tried to track the Aussie onto the second upstream gate but lost the battle for position and by the time she was going in the right direction it was all over.
She ended up fourth, but a penalty for Germany’s Elena Lilik handed her a second bronze medal of the games.
Clarke followed minutes later but left himself a mountain to climb after being fourth after five strokes as New Zealand’s Finn Butcher streaked away.
Clarke battled his way back into second but Butcher was in command and raced a perfect race.
When the leader was beautifully clean at the final upstream gate, the gold was secured, especially when Clarke briefly got stuck.
But the Stoke paddler, watched by his young son, got going to add a silver medal to his Rio 2016 kayak slalom gold, punching the air with his right fist as he crossed the line.
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The two medals in a matter of minutes took Team GB’s tally to 40, with ten gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze.
Kayak Cross is new to Paris 2024 and sees four kayakers tipped off a 5m high platform before racing down a 210m course.
They have to perform a 360 degree roll under a beam at one point and go around gates – either backwards if they are red or forwards if they are green.
Aside from that and the fact you can’t deliberately smash an opponent with your paddle – anything is pretty much allowed.
And it’s has taken social media by storm on Monday.
With fans comparing the chaos to bumper cars – like the Olympics meets Takeshi’s Castle.
But sadly it was a different story for Team GB star Mallory Franklin, 30, who was disqualified in the quarter-finals.
Despite finishing in the top two and looking set for a semi-final berth, judges said she did not complete a full roll.
