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Day 5
The crowd was at its busiest on Saturday , day five , as a group of inspirational women gathered for the She Paddles conference .
British Canoeing ’ s chief executive Ashley Metcalfe told the attendees that the She Paddles project was “ absolutely phenomenal ” and “ so important ”.
On the water , about 3,000 people were in for an absolute treat .
Jonny Dickson made his first World Championship final , in the K1 , after dramatically qualifying in the last place available .
Joe Clarke later claimed gold with a truly breathtaking run .
Clarke , the last to go , was ahead on every single split in the medal showdown . He finished almost two seconds ahead of Czech Jiri Prskavec .
The 30-year-old said : “ It doesn ’ t get much more special than [ winning in front of his family ].
“ Having the home support - I had about 50 friends and family come down from all over the country - and to be world champion in front of them is the icing on the cake .”
In the women ’ s K1 Mallory Franklin qualified for the final , taking eighth place .
Day 6
The final day perhaps saw the greatest drama as both Joe Clarke and Kimberley Woods were crowned World Champions in the Kayak Cross event .
Woods said : “ Wow - I can ’ t believe I can call myself a world champion . It took me a little while [ to get going ].
“ After the time trial , it was like ‘ OK let ’ s build through round and round ’. It was really tough for the first couple of rounds and the final , again , it was ‘ don ’ t come last ’.
“ To be coming out of the start pool in second , I believed in myself a lot . It is my super strength - being adaptable and instinctive and not trying to anticipate what other people are doing .”
Clarke said : “ It is hard to put into words really - it ’ s like a dream weekend . I got my first title in the K1 and this is the third time I have done it in the kayak cross . I am a triple world champion in kayak cross - 2021 , 2022 and 2023 - it ’ s fantastic .
“ There was only one more medal up for grabs and that was the team event .
“ We gave that a good shot and I feel like on another occasion we would have got a medal in that as well . For me - it ’ s been perfect .”
Kayak Cross makes its debut at the Paris Olympics 2024 and Britain will go into the Games with the Men and Women ’ s World Champions .
The two gold medals topped off an unbelievable week for the British team as well as the organisers , volunteers and spectators .
Canoe Focus Late Summer 2023