Canoe Slalom World Championships: Kimberley Woods And Joe Clarke Made A Triumphant Finish
- GB’s Kimberley Woods and Joe Clarke win kayak cross golds.
Kimberley Woods and Joe Clarke made it a triumphant finish to the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships for hosts Great Britain on Sunday.
Both won gold as the six-day event at London’s Lee Valley White Water Centre concluded with the kayak cross finals.
Woods, 28, won the women’s final to earn her first individual world title.
Former K1 Olympic champion Clarke, 30, then won the men’s final for the third straight year to ensure GB finished with five of the 10 golds on offer.
Woods was denied C1 gold by team-mate Mallory Franklin on Friday before failing to qualify for Saturday’s K1 final.
But a raucous home crowd cheered her on to victory, with Woods sneaking inside Camille Prigent to take the lead before holding on to beat the Frenchwoman, with Slovenia’s Eva Tercelj taking bronze.
“The crowd, you guys are amazing,” said Woods. “The heartbreak after yesterday’s kayak, I was so broken, so I tried to compose myself for this. I’m absolutely thrilled.”
It was a second gold of the championships for the British pair, with Woods having won the C1 team event with Franklin and Ellis Miller, while Clarke retained his K1 title on Saturday.
Switzerland’s Martin Dougoud took an early lead on Sunday but Clarke took advantage of an error to go in front and he charged to victory ahead of Boris Neveu of France, with Dougoud third.
“Triple world champion, it doesn’t get much better,” said Clarke. “It’s been a dream weekend for me and the crowd again, you were fantastic.
“I was nervous, I was really tired. Winning yesterday, there was a lot of emotions, and trying to do it again today was hard work so wow!”
GB were already assured of topping the medal table but Sunday’s double success helped them finish with five golds, two silvers and one bronze from the 10 events.
