In our seventh and final big interview with the 2025 International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series winners, we spoke with women’s overall kayak and canoe champion Kimberley Woods of Great Britain.
There was a point midway through this season when Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods came to the realisation that she was not being true to her ultra-competitive self.
After the intensity of an Olympic year, Woods opted to take her foot off the gas and enjoy the start of this season.
Who can blame Woods for easing off after all her success in Paris last year, where she earned two Olympic bronze medals?
But this relaxed approach to the 2025 campaign was not resulting in the medals that Woods craved so much.
“I was forcing myself to want to enjoy the first half of the season, so in the second half I wanted to be myself,” said Woods.
“As a junior, I was very outcome-driven, so if I didn’t win a medal, it meant nothing to me.
“I have definitely moved away from that as it’s more about the process and the journey.
“But there is still that inner child in me who loves the sport and loves to win.
“I wasn’t getting that at the start of the season.
“I was only getting little wins.”
After the opening two legs of the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series in La Seu and Pau, it didn’t look like Woods was on course to win two overall titles.
The same can be said after the third leg, but having reached finals in the kayak, canoe and kayak cross in Prague, it reignited the fire inside Woods.
“I knew that I needed to go away and work really hard, get fit again, and just be in the best place going into the last half of the season,” said Woods.
This change in mentality paid off in spectacular fashion as Woods produced a remarkable finish to the season.
At 30 years old, Woods has achieved a lot in the sport, but chalking up a victory in a kayak was not on her resume until she took to Slovenian waters.
The British paddler pulled off a stunning performance in Tacen to secure her first-ever K1 crown.
“I have always wanted to win a kayak race,” said the double Olympic bronze medallist.
“I have always been second, third, fourth, fifth, and just been there, but never been on the top step in kayak.
“I have won a few bronze medals, but there was always something that stopped me from winning.
“Even with my mistake at the top of the course, it was about resetting and absolutely going for it and just seeing what was possible and not having any regrets.
“To do it how I did it was how I envisaged winning a race.
“When it happened, it felt crazy that I’m getting first place in my career at 30.
“I can retire happy knowing that I have won a kayak race.”
Like London buses, Woods waited for one to arrive, and two came along in quick succession as she clinched back-to-back K1 titles.
Buoyed by her performance in Tacen, a red-hot Woods scorched down the Augsburg course for another K1 victory.
It was a display that not only sealed successive wins but also delivered a first-ever overall crown in K1 for Woods.
“I think the highest I’ve finished in previous seasons was 10th,” said Woods.
“It was amazing to do that and a bit of a shock.
“I knew I had put myself in the running after Tacen, but it wasn’t in the forefront of my mind that I could win this.
“It was only when I was in the final when I was thinking ‘I could win this’.”
If her performances in Tacen and Augsburg to win the World Cup Series in K1 were incredible, then Woods’ showings in the C1 were downright outrageous, given that she broke two boats en route to glory.
After breaking her new boat in Prague, Woods returned to her old canoe only to damage that as well.
Woods smashed her boat into the wall at the top of the course before recovering to seal bronze, and it could have been gold had she not picked up a two-second penalty.
At that stage, Woods’ hopes of completing the C1-K1 double in Augsburg were in doubt before turning to the Canoe Slalom community for support.
“Thankfully, Canoe Slalom has an amazing community of people who know how to fix it,” said Woods.
“I sent my boat to some of the team that were going to Augsburg a day early, and there were a couple of people there who really helped and fixed it for me.
“The boat was ready for me to get into when I got to Augsburg.
“I didn’t notice much of a difference with the boat, so they did an incredible job.”
With her boat fixed in time for Augsburg, Woods put together another phenomenal showing to capture gold in the C1 and with it the overall title, adding to her K1 success.
“To get that double win in Augsburg was amazing,” said Woods.
“I have always dreamed of doing that.
“I know that Jessica Fox had done it and Mallory Franklin had done it as well, so I just wanted to be one of those and put my name in the history books with that.
“I did that by winning the overall World Cup titles in both boats.”
Not only did Woods top the overall standings in C1 and K1, but she also ranked second in the kayak cross, just 17 points behind World Cup Series winner Ricarda Funk of Germany.
After a superb World Cup season, Woods looked in fine form for an assault on the world titles in Sydney.
But gold eluded Woods as she collected bronze in the women’s C1 teams and silver in the K1, finishing behind Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska.
“I think the World Championships are definitely the longest schedule we do outside the Olympics,” said Woods.
“It was about trying to regulate my emotions day to day and deal with it whether it was good runs or upsets.
“I definitely felt like I was in really good shape to win the K1, so when I came second in the end with two touches, it felt really hard not to play the victim and say it’s not my fault.
“Going to bed that night, I just wanted to try to forget about it and tried to move on to the kayak.”
Woods is now preparing herself for the 2026 season as she seeks more glory in the World Cup and the World Championships.
“The last half of the season is probably where the key focus will come into play from the World Championships onwards,” said Woods.
“We are building a really good base at the moment.
“I am taking another trip to Augsburg to do the races and get into that before our team selection at the end of March, early April.”
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