At a time when it is incredibly hard to find anything ‘normal’ in the world, Jessica Fox dominating a canoe slalom final and the Czech Republic picking up gold medals on their home course is always a reliable bet.
The Australian has been favourite for some time for the gold medal when women’s C1 makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, and on Sunday those odds shortened with a devastating performance in the final at the ICF world cup in Prague.
Czech Lukas Rohan finished on the podium for the first time at a world cup, and made it all the way to the top with a tight win over three-time Olympian David Florence in the men’s C1. Teammate Vit Prindis made it three gold medals for the hosts over the weekend with a win in the men’s extreme slalom, while Austria’s Corinna Kuhnle won the women’s final.
Fox has relished the opportunity to return to the international stage after more than 12 months of lockdown in Australia, winning the bronze in the women’s K1 on Saturday, and finishing almost five seconds ahead of the rest of the field in the C1.
“I’m just really happy to win today and be back in Prague at a world cup event after so long, it’s an amazing feeling, to get those start line nerves and then put down a run I’m proud of, I’m really happy about that,” Fox said.
“It was never about coming here to win, it was about coming here to race, and to see where we are at compared to our competitors because we haven’t seen them for a long time.
“I’m really happy with my race today, finally a clean run. It’s always really challenging on a course like today.”
Fox finished 4.83 seconds ahead of Germany’s reigning world champion, Andrea Herzog, with local hope Tereza Fiserova taking the bronze medal.
Rohan gave the Czech Republic its second gold medal of the weekend with a solid performance in the men’s C1, edging out Florence by 0.24 of a second despite picking up a two-second penalty for a gate touch.
The Tokyo-bound Czech picked up his penalty on the first gate, which encouraged him to take more risks for the remainder of his run.
“It’s really amazing, it’s a really good Sunday for me, but it still seems funny to me that after a touch on the first gate, it became easier and I made such a good and fast run,” Rohan said.
“This is the last race before the Olympics for me, and it’s my first medal at a world cup. It’s amazing and still a bit crazy for me.
“Every time there is an advantage for the locals, no matter where you race, but the course was very hard, very technical and very physical.”
RESULTS
WOMEN’S C1
- FOX Jessica (AUS) 105.15 (0 seconds penalties)
- HERZOG Andrea (GER) 109.98 (2)
- FISEROVA Tereza (CZE) 76 (2)
MEN’S C1
- ROHAN Lukas (CZE) 97.20 (2)
- FLORENCE David (GBR) 97.44 (0)
- SAVSEK Benjamin (SLO) 99.80 (2)
EXTREME SLALOM
WOMEN
- KUHNLE Corinna (AUT)
- PENNIE Fiona (GBR)
- KRYLOVA Kseniia (RUS)
MEN
- PRINDIS Vit (CZE)
- BUTCHER Finn (NZL)
- TUNKA Ondrej (CZE)
