Franklin Clinches Gold and Silver at European Slalom Championships

Olympic medalist Mallory Franklin marked her return to competition with a podium double at the Paddle Europe Slalom Championships held in Ivrea, Italy. The 32-year-old athlete claimed victory in the C1 category while also capturing a silver medal in the kayak cross event on the final day of the championships.

Franklin delivered a clean, penalty-free run of 100.47 seconds in the C1 final to edge out France’s Doriane Delassus by a narrow margin of 0.03 seconds. The triumph secured her third career European title in the C1 discipline and stands as her first individual medal since the birth of her daughter. Earlier in the week, Franklin had already secured a bronze medal in the team event.

Reflecting on her performance, Franklin stated, “It’s a really nice way to end the year. It’s been a tough one coming back and getting back on the start line. I’ve been building throughout the year and it’s just a nice way to finish it.” She completed her set of medals by finishing second in the kayak cross knockout rounds under floodlights, losing to the Czech Republic’s Tereza Kneblova.

Great Britain achieved further success in the kayak cross discipline when two-time Olympic medallist Kimberley Woods took the individual gold. Woods won the morning time trial with a time of 48.02 seconds, finishing ahead of Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska.

In other results, the British men’s K1 team of Ben Haylett, Sam Leaver, and Joe Clarke won bronze, joining Woods, Franklin, and Ellis Miller, who earned bronze in the women’s C1 team event. In the individual men’s kayak finals, Clarke and Leaver finished fifth and sixth respectively, unable to match the pace of Czech winner Jakub Krejci.