Penrith paddlers are rivals one day, gold medal winning team mates the next

In a major show of power, a trio of Penrith paddlers have taken on the world and ended up on top of it at the canoe slalom championships in Spain.

Ros Lawrence, Noemie Fox and Jessica Fox after winning their world title

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While they are involved in a fierce individual battle for just one spot in the C1 at the Tokyo Olympics, sisters Jess and Noemie Fox and fellow Penrith paddler Ros Lawrence have combined forces to win a team gold at the world canoe slalom championships this morning.

It was a stunning start to the world championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain, for the three paddlers who had earlier missed out on a KI team medal.

“It’s really nice to start the world champs on a positive and it can kind of change the feeling going into the individual events,’’ Lawrence said.

Jessica Fox on the way to winning her 10th world title in Spain as part of the C1 team.

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It was also the first world title in the class since 2015 and achieved in emphatic style with the trio almost four seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

Both Jess Fox and Lawrence had won gold in same event back at the 2013 and 2015 world championships.

“It’s really special. We were one of the only teams to do both the K1 and the C1 together, so we had two runs today and while the K1 did not go to plan, we worked really well together and we were all really proud at the finish line,” Jess Fox said.

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“It was really special to group together and hug and I guess that’s where we got a bit emotional.

“It is our first time as a team winning a gold medal.”

Originally published as Penrith paddlers are rivals one day, gold medal winning team mates the next