Kimberley Woods wins BRONZE for Team GB after German rival’s calamity error as Brit misses out on gold by seconds

KIMBERLEY WOODS has won Team GB’s third medal at the Paris Olympics in the women’s K-1 canoe slalom event.

She claimed bronze with a time of 98.94 in the final at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium.

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Kimberley Woods won bronze for Team GB in the final of the women’s canoe slalom K-1[/caption]

AP

The Brit finished third behind Australia’s Jessica Fox and Klaudia Zwolinska of Poland[/caption]

The Brit finished 2.86 seconds behind gold medallist Jessica Fox as the Australian crossed the line in 96.08 seconds.

Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska pipped Woods to silver before a dramatic final run from Ricarda Funk of Germany.

Funk had looked on course to beat Fox’s time and knock Woods off the podium.

However, two costly errors saw her hit with penalties as she finished 11th out of 12 athletes with a time of 149.08.

The mistakes confirmed Woods’ bronze medal after a nervy wait for the Brit.

She had been the third to last canoeist to hit the course after an impressive run in the semi-finals.

After being overtaken by Zwolinska, though, she held on to third spot to pick up her first Olympic medal.

Woods becomes the first British woman to medal in the K-1 class since Helen Reeves won bronze in Athens 20 years ago.

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It is the 20th canoeing medal won by Team GB, all coming since 1992.

The 28-year-old was competing at her second Olympics having also appeared in Tokyo.

She was only able to achieve a 10th place finish in Japan three years ago, though.

Speaking after the final, the six-time world champion explained: “It feels absolutely incredible.

“Just knowing all the hard work I have put in – me, my coach, my team-mates and all the hard work at home, all the support from friends and family, Team GB, UK Sport, National Lottery, the lot. I feel absolutely proud to represent Team GB and win this medal.

“The wait was absolutely horrific! Seeing Ricarda Funk coming down I couldn’t watch, I was on my knees, I was head in hands not being able to watch and all of a sudden I heard the crowd shout something and there was a mistake and I was like, ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I’ve done it.’

“I had my whole team around me and it was a really special moment to be down there.

“My heart rate was at 180 and it’s probably is still coming down a bit.

Woods’ bronze is Team GB’s third medal of the Paris OlympicsSportsfile

She is the first Brit to win a medal in the women’s canoe slalom K-1 since 2004Sportsfile

“I can’t believe how long my journey’s been. I’ve been paddling for 20 years now and finally have a medal around my neck. I’m hoping to be going for another 10 but we’ll see how my body handles up.

“That whole journey of where I’ve come from in the last 10 years has been incredible. I’m really proud of who I am today, being able to be open and speak about it and use my platform for good.”

Woods’ bronze follows a pair of medals for Great Britain on the opening day of the games on Saturday.

Divers Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen won Team GB’s first of the games with bronze in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard.

Cyclist Anna Henderson then followed up with a silver medal in the women’s road time trial.