Mallory Franklin comes last after error-strewn canoe slalom run weeks after father’s death
A brutal result in a brutal sport during a brutal few weeks for Mallory Franklin. Great Britain’s most successful canoeist ever went into this Olympics weeks after the death of her father. She is ranked fifth in the world but finished 12th and last in the canoe slalom final.
A series of errors cost her 56 seconds in penalty time, preventing an addition to the silver medal she won at the last Games in Tokyo. She hit three gates during her run, equating to six added seconds on her time, and shortly afterwards there was a further 50 seconds added when she was adjudged to have missed the 20th gate entirely.
Without those penalties her time was good enough for bronze, but she was under no illusions afterwards when reflecting on her run. She banged her helmet with her palm three times after crossing the line.
“I was a bit frustrated,” she said. “I knew I had the pace but I’ve been struggling all year to put that together and keep it clean. I was really hoping I‘d be able to put it all together at this point when it really mattered. I wasn’t able to and that’s a bit sad.
“I was easily capable of the medal but just wasn’t able to put it together. I’m a bit unsurprised, I guess that’s been my year so far. I can’t really expect a huge amount else, really.”
“It’s a tough course, there’s a lot in it. It’s technical and it’s probably a course that when I was a bit more in form and settled I probably could have done quite well on but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Franklin paused her interview briefly to watch Australian Jessica Fox complete a fearsome gold-winning run and applauded her opponent. “Maybe one day I can perform like that.” The first chance to do so is on Friday when she takes part in the kayak cross time trial event.
No luck for Franklin in C1: as it happened
05:30 PM BST
Goodbye
That brings our coverage of this afternoon’s canoe slalom to a close. Unfortunate for Mallory Franklin but we saw a superb winner in Australian Jess Fox, who underlined her status as the best female paddler of all time.
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05:19 PM BST
Jess Fox’s remarkable record
Olympic Games
London 2012 – Silver (K1)
Rio 2016 – Bronze (K1)
Tokyo 2020 – Gold (C1), Bronze (K1)
Paris 2024 – Gold (C1), Gold (K1)
05:09 PM BST
Final standings
Jessica Fox AUS 99.07
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Ana Sátila BRA 112.70
Mònica Dòria Vilarrubla AND 113.58
Gabriela Satková CZE 114.22
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 115.48
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Mallory Franklin GBR 165.15
05:08 PM BST
Our final paddler...
...is Gabriela Satková. She has a real task here to better Fox and an early penalty will not help. She then loses position of the upstream before picking up further penalties in the closing stages of her run. It’s not enough. Jessica Fox is an Olympic champion again.
05:06 PM BST
As things stand
Jessica Fox AUS 99.07
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Ana Sátila BRA 112.70
Mònica Dòria Vilarrubla AND 113.58
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 115.48
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Mallory Franklin GBR 165.15
One paddler to go...
05:05 PM BST
Incredible from Fox
The best female paddler of all time shows why. Amazing from Jess Fox, she took lines and risks that no-one else has in this final. It almost looked like a different course. Remarkable from the Australian, she has given herself a huge chance of a second gold of these games. An incredible time of 99.06.
05:04 PM BST
As things stand
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Ana Sátila BRA 112.70
Mònica Dòria Vilarrubla AND 113.58
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 115.48
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Mallory Franklin GBR 165.15
Two paddlers to go...
05:02 PM BST
Bad to worse
Day gets worse still for Franklin, to go with her six second of penalties for hitting three gates she’s been given a 50 second penalty for missing the 20th gate entirely.
05:00 PM BST
Errors pile up...
...for Mònica Dòria Vilarrubla of Andorra. Three in the first seven gates. That won’t be good enough for a medal.
04:58 PM BST
As things stand
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Ana Sátila BRA 112.70
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 115.48
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Mallory Franklin GBR 165.15
Three paddlers to go...
04:57 PM BST
Pays for big mistake
Eva Alina Hočevar was very impressive in the semi. What can she do? Very, very good through the first three gates but then gets stuck going into five before completely losing her position going into seven. She’s a good 20 feet downstream of the gate. That’s a medal chance gone.
04:54 PM BST
As things stand
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Ana Sátila BRA 112.70
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Mallory Franklin GBR 115.15
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Four paddlers to go...
04:54 PM BST
Brazil’s chance
Ana Sátila sets off next for Brazil but she has a touch on gate five, that’s two seconds gone. This really is not a course where you can make up time having given it away through penalties. This is a long way short of our leader, Elena Lilick.
04:51 PM BST
As things stand
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Mallory Franklin GBR 115.15
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Five paddlers to go...
04:50 PM BST
She crosses...
...in 115.15. A tough run for Franklin, who has had a tough preparation having lost her father just five weeks ago.
Franklin bangs her helmet in frustration as she crosses the finish. It was the outcome we feared, the same number of penalties she registered in the semis. Six seconds far too many to recover from and she will finish out of the medals.
04:50 PM BST
More errors...
....from Franklin. A penalty at 14 and getting lost in the upstream at 15.
04:49 PM BST
Penalty on seven...
...for Franklin. That might be a death knell to her chances of a medal.
04:48 PM BST
She starts...
...well. No errors through the first few gates.
04:46 PM BST
Here goes Mallory Franklin...
...for Team GB. Strap in.
04:45 PM BST
As things stand
Elena Lilik GER 103.54
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Six paddlers to go...
04:45 PM BST
Elena Lilik...
...makes a superb start for Germany. So smooth through the top section and carries that into the tough gate 15. This is looking very good and it’s sensational from Lilik – 103.54. That is going to be very competitive.
That 103.54 from Lilik is faster than any of the semis times. No pressure, Mallory. No French interest in this final so a fair spread of other nations’ fans. Can spot three Union flags close to the hardest section of the course, though.
04:42 PM BST
As things stand
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Viktoriia Us UKR 117.98
Seven paddlers to go...
04:41 PM BST
Viktoriia Us...
.... gets caught in the stopper just in front of gate seven, that’s going to cost the Ukrainian time. A penalty at that gate will not help either, she’s just been a little out of position throughout this run, battling the white water. Us’s time is only good enough for fifth.
Four seconds in penalties for Ukrainian Viktoriia Us, same she earned on her semi run. Franklin will need a different outcome if she is to challenge, she cannot afford the six seconds she registered on her first run this afternoon. The five who registered quicker times and will go after her in this final only has one two second penalty between them.
04:38 PM BST
As things stand
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Zuzana Paňková SLV 111.07
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Eight paddlers to go...
04:37 PM BST
Slovak up next
Zuzana Paňková is clean through the tricky gate two and then gets through the tough gate-eight section. Good run from the Slovak so far. Can she finish strongly? She’s just behind Leibfarth on the splits and Pankova is second in a time of 111.07.
04:35 PM BST
As things stand
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.97
Nine paddlers to go...
04:34 PM BST
Errors for Lazkano
Miren Lazkano of Spain sets off on her bid for glory but a pair of early two-second penalties looked to have put paid to her medal chances. She then misses the upstream at eight and is nearly five seconds behind at the first split. A late penalty is not going to help. It’s 116.97 for Lakzano.
04:31 PM BST
As things stand
Evy Leibfarth USA 109.95
Alena Marx SWI 114.61
04:31 PM BST
Alena Marx from Switzerland...
...is next to go. The top part of this course really sets the tone for the rest of the run and Marx gets a little stuck on the upstream at gate eight. She’s behind on the splits but this is still a decent run but not sure this is going to be enough to better Leibfarth. It isn’t, she crosses in 114.61.
04:27 PM BST
Evy Leibfarth is first to go
The American gets caught up in the white water while trying to spin into gate five – that could be a problem we see several paddlers have in this final. Leibfarth crosses in 109.95. That is the early benchmark.
04:19 PM BST
Mallory Franklin will be...
...the seventh paddler to take to the course at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium after her time of 111.62 was good enough to see her qualify sixth fastest in this afternoon’s semi-final.
It is worth noting that a trio of two-second time penalties added six seconds onto Franklin’s time, meaning that with a clear run she would have in fact been second-quickest of the 18 semi-finalists.
A 50-second penalty nearly cost her in yesterday’s heats and she is going to need a clear run if she is to be in with a realistic chance of a medal here. If she produces one, she has already shown she has the pace to be very, very competitive.
04:14 PM BST
Welcome back...
...and do we have a treat for you. The final of the C1 women’s canoe slalom is rapidly approaching and so too is the opportunity for, possibly, another Team GB medal. Since we went live here we have also seen Kieran Reilly take silver in the BMX freestyle, taking Team GB’s medal total today to seven.
03:39 PM BST
What happens next?
After a short break the 12 remaining will return for the final. The course will remain the same and all times from the semi-final will be wiped, making it a straight one-run shoot-out for the medals.
03:27 PM BST
The final...
...will follow in just over an hour’s time. Stay tuned and we will bring all the action from an exciting denouement at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
03:26 PM BST
The final 12
Gabriela Satková CZE 105.55
Jessica Fox AUS 106.08
Mònica Dòria AND 106.53
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Ana Sátila BRA 109.88
Mallory Franklin GBR 111.62
Elena Lilik GER 113.59
Zuzana Paňková SLV 115.59
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
03:24 PM BST
Satkova goes quicker!
A real marker laid down by Czechia’s Gabriela Satková. Clean, smooth and she led Jess Fox throughout on that run. She will paddle last in the final after a time of 105.55
03:21 PM BST
Half-job done
Here goes the favourite Jess Fox from Australia. She looks at ease here and is indeed quickest in the semi-final with one paddler to go. A 106.08 for the favourite.
03:19 PM BST
Current standings
Mònica Dòria AND 106.53
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Ana Sátila BRA 109.88
Mallory Franklin GBR 111.62
Elena Lilik GER 113.59
Zuzana Paňková SLV 115.59
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:17 PM BST
Two more qualify
Zuzana Paňková of Slovakia is into the final and now it’s the turn of Mònica Dòria of Andorra. Very clean top section from her and she leads at the split. Really, really good bottom sector from Dòria. A 106.53 from her...a message sent possibly?
03:13 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Ana Sátila BRA 109.88
Mallory Franklin GBR 111.62
Elena Lilik GER 113.59
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:12 PM BST
‘Tidy enough run’
Caught sight of Mallory Franklin in her way up the sushi belt which transports paddlers from the low ground of their warm up area to the holding zone just before the start. She was taking a moment for some private composure, leaning forward onto her boat with head down, deep in thought. Until she spotted a cameraman watching her every move.
A tidy enough run in her semi, but she will be no quicker than third. Would have been within four tenths of current fastest Hocevar with one fewer penalty for hitting a gate.
03:12 PM BST
Another finalist
Elena Lilik follows Franklin and she does enough to qualify for the final. 113.59 for her.
03:11 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Ana Sátila BRA 109.88
Mallory Franklin GBR 111.62
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:09 PM BST
Here goes Mallory Franklin
A penalty at gate seven but she still looks pretty solid. She’s a second down at halfway and then picks up a further two penalties. Six seconds lost with those errors but so she sits just over two seconds down on the leader. Promising signs for the final if she can get through it error free.
03:06 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Ana Sátila BRA 109.88
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:06 PM BST
Into the final
Ana Satila clips the third-last gate but she does more than enough to qualify. She is carrying a small shoulder injury but that was not in evidence there. Excellent run.
03:03 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Lena Teunissen NED 122.8
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:03 PM BST
Key error
Gate 17 catches out Lena Teunissen of the Netherlands. A 122.87 will not be good enough – that’s her Olympic Games over.
03:01 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Viktoriya Us UKR 114.26
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
03:00 PM BST
Good recovery
A couple of early penalties from Ukraine’s Viktoriia Us but she tightened up after that and finishes in 114.26, the second-quickest time so far. Impressive and that will be enough for the final.
02:58 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Klaudia Zwolińska POL 123.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
02:57 PM BST
No double
Olympic silver medalist in the kayak Klaudia Zwolińska is up next and it’s fairly messy top section, meaning she has to nail the bottom few gates. Can she do it? It doesn’t look like it...seventh for Zwolińska in 121.64. That won’t be good enough.
Alena Marx and Miren Lazkano are now guaranteed a final berth.
02:55 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Evy Leibfarth USA 117.58
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
02:54 PM BST
Anxious wait
Evy Leibfarth from the USA is gutted at the finish. She was so good at the start of her run but again the last ten gates showed their teeth, as they have done for several paddlers so far this afternoon. A 117.58 for her.
02:52 PM BST
Current standings
Eva Alina Hočevar SVN 109.22
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
02:51 PM BST
New leader
Very tidy from Eva Alina Hočevar of Slovenia. A 109.22 is very respectable on a course this testing and that time is the first we’ve seen so far that should guarantee a place in the final.
02:49 PM BST
Current standings
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Marjorie Delassus FRA 118.84
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
02:48 PM BST
Home favourite
Marjorie Delassus is getting great support but she gets it all wrong, missing the water at one of the reverse gates. That will cost her dear...and does at the end. A 118.84, with three penalties and that mis-direction at 15 puts her in third.
02:45 PM BST
Current standings
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Huang Juan CHN 121.64
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
Top 12 qualify for the final
02:45 PM BST
Three mistakes cost dear
A real struggle for Huang Juan of China, who got eaten up on the back-end of the course. I’m not sure 121.64 is going to enough to make the final.
02:43 PM BST
Current standings
Miren Lazkano SPA 116.27
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
02:42 PM BST
Miren Lazkano bests Marx
A couple of little mistakes from the Spaniard but otherwise a pretty good run. Will 114.27 be enough? Her coach’s response on the banks of the white water suggests he thinks so.
02:41 PM BST
A reminder...
...it’s the top 12 from this semi-fainl that will qualify for the final later this afternoon.
02:40 PM BST
Current standings
Alena Marx SWI 117.50
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
02:39 PM BST
Alena Marx is on the course...
...for Switzerland. She picks up a two-second time penalty after clipping a gate and therefore finishes in a time of 117.50.
A look of disappointment on her face.
02:37 PM BST
Current standings
Viktoria Wolffhardt AUS 120.78
Marta Bertoncelli ITA 170.28 (50-sec penalty)
02:36 PM BST
Viktoria Wolffhardt is almost...
...certain to take the lead here should she get out of this run without a 50-second penalty. A 120.78 means the Austrian sets the benchmark for the remaining 16 paddlers.
02:33 PM BST
50-second penalty....
...for Bertoncelli who therefore finishes in 170.28. That will not be enough to see her into the final this afternoon.
02:30 PM BST
We are underway
Marta Bertoncelli of Italy is the first paddler to take on the course this afternoon.
02:30 PM BST
A total of...
...23 gates and a shed-load of white-water sit in front of the paddlers this afternoon. A slightly new layout facing the 18 competitors in this semi-final.
One run only in this round. No easy paddling.
02:23 PM BST
If you are unfaimilar...
...with canoe slalom as sport (shame on you if so), here’s a quick video to get you up to speed ahead of this afternoon’s action.
02:14 PM BST
Top ten from heats with best times
SATKOVA Gabriela CZE 99.44
FOX Jessica AUS 100.05
DORIA VILARRUBLA Monica AND 101.28
PANKOVA Zuzana SVK 103.27
LILIK Elena GER 103.29
FRANKLIN Mallory GBR 104.72
SATILA Ana BRA 105.16
TEUNISSEN Lena NED 105.33
US Viktoriia UKR 106.09
ZWOLINSKA Klaudia POL 106.84
01:53 PM BST
Franklin goes for gold
What a day it has been for Team GB, with two gold medals and two bronze already in the bag. Over to you Mallory Franklin, who arrives at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium with a genuine medal chance.
The reigning world champion was made to sweat a touch in yesterday’s heats after picking up a 50-second time penalty on her second run, but still qualified with relative ease.
“It was probably a little bit tactical today paddling the course knowing that I had the pace to get through,” Franklin said afterwards.
“Therefore, prepping for some of the moves tomorrow rather than paddling this course as I would if I was trying to be the quickest on it.
“If I can keep my head straight and deliver tomorrow then who knows what can happen.”
What needs to happen is that Franklin must get past her biggest challenger, reigning Olympic champion, Jessica Fox who qualified in second behind Czechia’s Gabriela Satkova.
Fox, who took gold in the K1 Kayak event last week, is a red-hot favourite with oddsmakers to take her second gold of the games.
“It was about feeling good in the heats course, in the canoe, getting that feel back after the kayak. I got on the water yesterday to just blow out the cobwebs and flush out the arms a little bit,” Cox said after the heats.
“I think it is an advantage having done it (the course) already in the kayak, but it’s also different strategies and C1 (canoeing) is different strokes and race plan as well,”
“I’m trying to really stay in the moment, stay focused — job one today was heats, tomorrow will be make the final, top 12, and then hopefully just be free in that final and go for it as much as I can and be proud of myself at the end.”