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Australian Jess Fox wins gold in extreme kayak final at canoe slalom world championships

Jess Fox poses for a photo with her world championship gold medal, a hat and plushie

Olympic champion Jess Fox has bolstered her medal haul, winning gold and silver on the final day of racing at the canoe slalom world championships in Germany.

The record-breaking Australian successfully defended her world title in the extreme slalom event after coming second in the women’s canoe earlier in the day.

Fox edged Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods while Andorra’s Monica Doria Vilarrubla claimed the bronze medal.

Extreme canoe slalom will premiere as an Olympic event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and with back to back world titles, Fox is firming as the favourite.

The Olympic C1 champion was pipped in that event for less than one second by German Andrea Herzog while Great Britain’s Mallory Franklin rounded out the podium.

Jessica Fox screams in celebration at the women's extreme kayak final
Jess Fox’s two Sunday medals took her world championships medal tally to three, after winning silver in the women’s kayak on Saturday.(Getty Images: Thomas Lohnes)

Those three paddlers were the medal winners at the Tokyo Olympics, although Fox then beat Franklin for gold.

The performances brought her overall world championships medal tally to three after already winning silver in the women’s kayak on Saturday.

“It’s been an amazing weekend here in Augsburg,” Fox said.

“I can’t quite believe I managed to pull that off in extreme and to back up the world title. I’m so pleased to come away with three medals.

“For the kayak and the canoe, it was always going to be really tough to beat the Germans on their home course and I wanted to give it the best shot I could.

“I’m really pleased with the way I raced.”

Fox was joined in the C1 final by her younger sister Noemie Fox, who finished a strong eighth.

In July, the 25-year-old won silver in the extreme slalom at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Cup in Poland.

Noemie Fox competes in the women's canoe heats run. She is pictured with a blue canoe and a top with Augsburg on the bottom
Noemie Fox — Jess’ younger sister — finished eighth in the C1 final.(Getty Images: Thomas Lohnes)

Tasmanian Kate Eckhardt narrowly missed the final in 13th place in her first ever world championships women’s canoe semi-final.

Tim Anderson completed Australia’s representation, placing eighth in the men’s extreme kayaking event.

With one gold and two silver medals Australia placed fourth on the overall medal rankings.

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Michael Masi death threats, abuse, interview, championship race, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

Michael Masi death threats, abuse, interview, championship race, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

Axed Formula One race director Michael Masi Sunday revealed he was bombarded with “vile” abuse and death threats after his stunning call that cost Lewis Hamilton an eighth world title.

The 44-year-old was removed from the high-profile job over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year and quit the sport’s governing body FIA this month to return home to Australia.

I have told The Daily Telegraph he feared for his life after the sequence of events that led to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passing Hamilton to deprive the Mercedes star of another crown.

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“There were some dark days,” Masi said in his first substantive interview since.

“And absolutely, I felt like I was the most hated man in the world. I got death threats. People saying, they were going to come after me and my family.

“I still remember walking down the street in London a day or two later. I thought I was OK until I started looking over my shoulder,” he added.

“I was looking at people wondering if they were going to get me.” Masi called in the safety car for the final lap in Abu Dhabi, then controversially allowed the backmarkers between race leader Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves.

That led to a one-lap shoot-out between the Briton and the Dutchman, who with fresh tires on his Red Bull car had a huge advantage which he exploited to pick off Hamilton and seal the title.

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Michael Masi, removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, left The FIA, the sport's governing body. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Michael Masi, removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, left The FIA, the sport’s governing body. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)Source: AFP

Mercedes and Red Bull had both put pressure on Masi to make decisions which would have helped their driver, with the former left incensed as they believed he followed their rivals’ suggestions.

They threatened legal action with Hamilton so disillusioned there were fears he would walk away from the sport.

Masi can’t talk about the decision due to non-disclosure agreements with the FIA, the newspaper reported, but he said the following months were hellish.

“I was confronted with hundreds of messages,” he said.

“And they were shocking. Racist, abusive, vile, they called me every name under the sun. And there were death threats.

“And they kept on coming. Not just on my Facebook but also on my LinkedIn, which is supposed to be a professional platform for business. It was the same kind of abuse.”

Michael Masi opened up on the ordeal. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

The Australian said he tried to ignore them, but they impacted his mental health.

“I didn’t go and talk to a professional. With the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have,” he said, adding that the FIA ​​was aware of the abuse, “but I think I downplayed it all to everyone including them”.

Masi decided to leave the FIA ​​a fortnight ago after three years as Formula 1 race director and safety delegate following his appointment after the sudden passing of Charlie Whiting in 2019.

“It took me a while to process it all,” he said of the Abu Dhabi fallout. “But at the end of the day I thought it was best for me to come back home and be close to my support network.” Since the Abu Dhabi race, the FIA ​​announced measures to ease the pressure on the race director and also altered the mode of communicating with him.

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