Fox through to semis at canoe world champs

Jessica Fox is through to the semis of the World Slalom Championships but she was 38th after her first run after missing a gate and having to double back.

Defending world champion Jessica Fox is through to the semi-finals of the K1 at the World Slalom Championships in London - but it took her two runs in atrocious conditions to get there.

The 2012 Olympic silver medallist was 38th following her first qualifying run on Wednesday after missing a gate and having to double back.

With only the top 20 going straight through from the first run, the 21-year-old had to finish top 10 in her second run on the Olympic Lee Valley course to make the semi-finals.

Two other Australians, Ros Lawrence and Alison Borrows, also had to rely on second runs, but while Fox finished third, Lawrence and Borrows both missed out in the pouring rain.

"I was very nervous," Fox said afterwards.

"I was nervous this morning, but I had a good first run up until the middle section where I made a pretty big error.

"Once I nailed the move I had trouble with on the first run I gave a little sigh of relief."

Fox rarely needs two runs to qualify for a semi-final, although by chance she had exactly the same problem at the London Olympics.

"This is actually the first time I've had to do a second run this season, so it was a little bit different for me, to deal with that pressure and the new challenge."

Fox is the defending world champion in both the K1 and C1.

She'll contest the qualifying run of the C1, along with Lawrence and Borrows, on Thursday.

This week is the first chance athletes have had to qualify for next year's Olympics, with only one athlete from each of the top 15 countries qualifying for Rio.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world