Jess Fox of Australia wins gold in the women’s C1 canoe slalom final.

Jess Fox, an Australian canoe slalom star who missed out on gold in the K1 event, has bounced back to win the inaugural women’s C1 Olympic gold medal, storming to victory in Toyko.

Jessica Fox sped through the whitewater course in 105.04 seconds after the C1 was added to the Olympic program for the first time.

Mallory Franklin of the United Kingdom came in second, 3.64 seconds behind, and Andrea Herzog of Germany, the reigning world champion, took bronze.

In the K1 final, a touch on the second-last gate had proved disastrous, with Jess Fox losing the gold medal due to a two-second time penalty.

But this time, a determined Jess Fox breezed through the course without making a single mistake, splashing the water with joy when she saw her winning time.

The 27-year-old embraced her mother and coach, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, who won bronze in the K1 event in Atlanta, and her sister, Noemie, who is working at the Games.
Richard, her father, finished fourth in the Barcelona Olympics and returned to Sydney to work as a television commentator.

Jessica Fox lobbied hard for the women’s canoe race to be added to the Olympic program instead of the men’s C2, ensuring gender equality in the sport.

The Australian has long expressed her desire to be the first woman to win the event at the Olympics.

The C1 event, in which paddlers kneel and use one blade on their paddle rather than two as in the seated kayak, was skipped by Olympic champion Ricarda Funk of Germany and silver medalist Maialen Chourraut of Spain.

Only eight paddlers completed the C1-K1 double, and Fox was one of only two who advanced to the final.