Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods clinched Olympic bronze in a dramatic women’s kayak single (K1) final at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
The 28-year-old qualified third-fastest with an impressive semi-final performance and produced another clean run in the final, clocking 98.94 seconds to clinch her first Olympic medal.
Woods, third from last to start, moved into second behind Australia’s gold medal winner Jessica Fox but was pushed down into bronze by Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska.
With Woods’ fate in the hands of Germany’s reigning champion Ricarda Funk, the Tokyo gold medallist made a major mistake, receiving a 50-second penalty for missing the 20th gate of 23 to miss out on the podium.
Woods celebrated with her team after her medal was confirmed, three years after her Olympic debut ended in tears as her final run fell apart and she finished last.
With redemption achieved, she will now target gold in kayak cross next week – a discipline making its Olympic debut in Paris and in which she is the reigning world champion.