New Zealand kayaker Luuka Jones has won her first-ever world championship medal, capturing bronze in the women’s K1 final in La Seu, Spain, tonight.
The Tauranga paddler, in her ninth world championships, recorded a clean 94.77sec run to finish just 0.50secs behind Slovenia’s Eva Tercelj, with Australia’s Jess Fox second in 94.69.
The result eclipsed her fourth-placing in 2017 and her seventh-placing last year and added to the Olympic silver medal she won in 2016. It is also New Zealand’s best K1 finish at a world championship.
By making the final, Jones also guaranteed her selection for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, which will be her fourth appearance at the Games, joining the likes of board sailor Barbara Kendall (who attended five), table tennis stalwart Chunli Li, discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina, runner Lorraine Moller and shotputter Valerie Adams as quadruple Olympians.
Tercelj won her first world championship, edging defending champion Fox with an aggressive, assured display.
