Kayak Singles (K1), Slalom, Women

Australia’s Jess Fox was the heavy favorite, having won medals in this event at the last three Olympics, with silver at London 2012 and bronzes at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. She had won the event at the World Championships in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2023, and came into Paris world ranked #1 in the event. She was expected to be challenged by defending gold medalist Ricarda Funk of Germany, who was World Champion in 2021 and 2022.

Fox did not disappoint, winning gold, after leading the qualifying and then winning the final by almost 1½ points. It would be her second Olympic gold medal and she would add another three days later when she won the Canadian singles. Funk made the final easily, leading the semi-finals, but she finished only 11th.

Behind Fox, Klaudia Zwolińska won Poland’s first Olympic medal in women’s canoe slalom, a silver, and only the nation’s second Olympic medal in the discipline, after Krzysztof Kołomański and Michał Staniszewski had also won silver in 2000 men’s canoe doubles. The bronze medal went to Britain’s Kimberley Woods, who had barely qualified, finishing 12th. Woods would also win bronze in Paris in the new kayak cross event.