Gold rush for Aussie women in Oklahoma

Australia added another gold medal to their 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championship tally as New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holders Jessica Fox and Noemie Fox were joined by Kate Eckhardt as they won the Women’s Kayak Teams Final in Oklahoma. 

The women reunited for the first time since they won gold in the same event at the World Championships in London in 2023.

In an event only performed at the World Championships, the women used experience and expertise in their clinical run to put pressure on the final three teams and came away on top of the podium, only 0.64 seconds ahead of France. 

“We’re a bit of a dream team,” Noemie Fox said. “We’ve been training so well and supporting each other. There was so much trust and support in the lead in and we felt so good and wanted to do our best out there.

“To share these moments and be so proud of what we’ve done and to have those moments in an individual sport where we can collectively push each other and celebrate together is so special. 

“It was just so much fun out there and to be rewarded with a gold medal is amazing and I’m so proud of our double title now. 

In the Men’s Kayak Teams Final, the Australian men had an unfortunate 50 second penalty in their run and finished in 18th place. 

The Kayak heats started the morning of day two in Oklahoma with all six Australian paddlers progressing through to the K1 semi finals on Thursday.

Olympian Tim Anderson (NSWIS) finished best of the Aussie men in eighth position. Anderson was stoked to produce a quality run in blistering conditions.

“It was good. I got a good feeling on the water. I was able to express my paddling style quite well. I held the run together nicely, a little slip up at the bottom but it didn’t cost me too much so I’m pretty happy with that,” he said. 

Olympian Lucien Delfour (NSWIS) recovered strongly from a disappointing first day in OKC to bounce back and qualify for the K1 semi finals in 18th. Ben Pope had a nervous wait before taking the 30th spot in the semi finals. 

“It feels really good to be through. It was definitely a nail-biter, bit of a rollercoaster,” said Pope, the Australian Open K1 champion. 

“I didn’t feel like I had the best run – it was a good run but I felt slow off the start but I got to the finish. I was right on the bubble until the second last paddler who went behind me and I managed to sneak into the semi finals.”

Despite a couple of gate touches, Jessica Fox progressed through as the fastest Aussie to the women’s K1 semi finals in ninth place.

“A bit of a shaky start with the two touches back-to-back but overall it was then solid and I kept the boat speed on and I knew I would have to push to qualify because you never know – that top 30 can be really tight especially on a course like this,” Fox said.

“I’m happy with that. We’re through and all the girls are through so it’s good,” she said. 

2025 World Championship K1 bronze medalist Kate Eckhardt had her first international race of the season in the K1 heats and completed a solid, clean run to qualify in 11th position. Noemie Fox finished in 25th and is through to Thursday’s semi finals. 

Day three action continues tomorrow from 1:00am AEST Thursday 23 July featuring the K1 heats and Kayak Teams finals. 

Live action and race replays will be on the Planet Canoe YouTube Channel.

Find the full schedule and results here.

Paddle Australia

Photos: Romain Bruneau