Kayak Singles (K1), Slalom, Women

France’s Emilie Fer had been the surprise winner of the Women’s K-1 Slalom at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and had struck gold again at the 2013 World Championships, but she did not make an appearance in Rio to defend her title. This left the field relatively open in 2016, with Kateřina Kudějová of the Czech Republic as the reigning World Champion and European bronze medallist, and Germany’s Melanie Pfeifer having captured the European title a few months earlier, adding to her silver medals from 2012 and 2014, and her World bronze medals from 2014 and 2015. Not to be counted out was Australia’s Jessica Fox, who had been more successful in the non-Olympic Women’s C-1 Slalom, but nonetheless was the 2012 Olympic runner-up and the 2014 World Champion in the K-1.

The preliminary heats were won by Italy’s Stefanie Horn, the 2013 European runner-up, with Fox in a close second and Fiona Pennie of Great Britain, the 2013 European champion and 2006 and 2014 World runner-up, in third. Austria’s Corinna Kuhnle, the 2010 and 2011 World Champion and 2010 European runner-up, captured the semifinals, with Pennie in second and Maialen Chourraut of Spain in third. Chourraut was the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, the 2015 European Champion, the 2009 World runner-up, and the 2011 World bronze medallist, but had missed a gate on her first run in the preliminaries and finished 11th in her second attempt. In the final, however, she posted a time fast enough to have earned gold regardless of the penalties of other players. Fox, Kuhnle, and Pennie posted the next best times, but penalties left the Australian with bronze and the latter two off the podium. Silver went to New Zealand’s Luuka Jones, a three-time Olympian who had never won a medal at a major international competition.