WALTHAM ABBEY, England (Reuters) – Britain’s Mallory Franklin upset Olympic champion Jessica Fox to win gold in the C1 final at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at the Lee Valley White Water Centre on Friday.
Franklin, who was runner-up to Australian Fox at the Tokyo Olympics, put down a faultless run on a course which was familiar to the British paddlers.
Her time of 108.05 seconds proved fast enough to top the podium although she had an anxious wait as compatriot Kimberley Woods and Fox were both still to come.
Woods looked on course to knock Franklin off the top of the podium but lost time coming off the final gate, finishing in 108.47. Fox touched the third gate to incur a two-second time penalty and eventually finished third in 108.94 despite actually putting down the fastest run.
It was Franklin’s second gold medal of the championships after winning the C1 team event alongside Woods and Ellis Miller.
Slovakia’s reigning Olympic champion Benjamin Savsek won the men’s C1 title ahead of Nicolas Geston of France with Italy’s Paolo Ceccon third.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
