Fox paddles back to top of podium after rare miss

Jessica Fox has rebounded from an uncharacteristic fail in the kayak to claim another gold medal in the canoe slalom World Cup event in Germany.

A day after bombing in the kayak heats, Australia’s Olympic great Jessica Fox has shown steely resolve to rebound to take gold in the canoe slalom World Cup event in Germany.

Arriving in Augsburg after claiming the golden double at the previous round in Prague, Fox had to refocus after finishing 16th in the standings in the kayak event on Friday and missing the final.

Despite posting a time that would have placed her sixth, she was pinged for hitting the second and 13th gates.

On the comeback trail after surgery to remove a tumour from her kidney nine months ago, Fox was back to her best in the canoe – the event in which she has won two Olympic golds.

The 32-year-old qualified second fastest for the women’s canoe final behind Andorra’s Monica Doria and stormed to victory in the 12-strong medal round.

While she picked up another time penalty on the second last gate of the challenging course, Fox finished 2.34 seconds ahead of Spain’s Nuria Villarubla, while her younger sister Noemie Fox placed fifth.

“It’s the best feeling. I was disappointed yesterday not to make the final in the kayak, so to come out on this course today and put together a winning run means a lot,” said six-time Olympic medallist Fox.

“This course constantly makes you question your decisions and your line choices, but I managed to piece everything together.

“The touch near the bottom was probably the only thing stopping it from being a perfect run, but overall I’m really pleased.”

Looking to add to her 14 world titles, Fox is set to start as the favourite for next month’s world championships in Oklahoma, with the venue also hosting the 2028 Olympics.

By: Melissa Woods/AAP