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Australian canoeist Jessica Fox has won her first World Cup gold since returning from kidney surgery, claiming victory in the women's K1 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Prague, Czechia. The three-time Olympic champion topped the podium with a run of 108.84, finishing ahead of Poland's Klaudia Zwolińska (111.30), while Slovakian Zuzana Paňková took the bronze in 112.75.

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Fox's victory in Prague marked her first World Cup win since undergoing surgery to remove a benign tumour from her left kidney last year. She returned to international competition last week at the World Cup event in Tacen, Slovenia, where she claimed a silver medal in the women's K1 final, finishing only 0.13 seconds behind Slovenian gold-medal winner Eva Alina Hocevar.

In Prague, Fox described her win as "unbelievable," expressing pride and gratitude for the support she has received. "It's an achievement to just be on the start line again, to feel the nerves and the energy of racing and be back with the community that I love so much," she said. "To make the final was a goal. To get on a podium was a bonus last week, and to back it up here and go one better is amazing, so I am so grateful for everyone who has helped me get here."

Key Claims

  • Fox won gold in the women's K1 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Prague, Czechia, with a run of 108.84, ahead of Poland's Klaudia Zwolińska and Slovakia's Zuzana Paňková.
  • She claimed a silver medal in the women's K1 final at the World Cup event in Tacen, Slovenia, in her international return last week, finishing 0.13 seconds behind Slovenia's Eva Alina Hocevar.
  • Fox underwent surgery to remove a benign tumour from her left kidney last year and returned to competition after a nine-month absence.
  • In Prague, Fox also won gold in the women's C1 event, just 24 hours after her K1 victory. She attracted four penalty seconds in her C1 run, finishing with a total of 121.01, ahead of Czech Martina Satková (121.28) and Great Britain's Kimberley Woods (123.02).
  • Fox competed for the first time in C1 since having surgery and said the win felt "extremely special," adding, "I definitely didn't expect to win that run. It felt really hard down the bottom section and I think for me it was a lesson in never giving up."
In a separate report, Fox's victory in the C1 event at the World Cup in Augsburg, Germany, was highlighted, where she finished 2.34 seconds ahead of Spain's Núria Vilarrubla, while her younger sister, Noémie Fox, placed fifth. That report noted Fox had to refocus after finishing 16th in the K1 preliminaries there, and she is set to start favourite in the C1 for the World Championships next month in Oklahoma.