Anderson and Fox on Podium in Kayak Cross

NSWIS athlete Timothy Anderson has won the men’s Kayak Cross final at the 2024 Canoe Slalom Australian Open, while fellow NSWIS scholarship holder Noemie Fox has finished with another bronze medal.

After finishing fifth in Friday’s kayak final, Anderson was eager to find some finishing form.

Anderson was consistent, from today’s time trials right through until the final, and found himself in pole position, crossing the line in first to win gold.

“I’m absolutely stoked. It was a pretty incredible race really, I seemed to make all the right choices and everything went my way,” Anderson said.

“It’s been a really big couple of weeks. It’s been quite stressful so it’s nice to finish off on a high note and executing what I planned to do. 

“I’m a little worn out so a nice quick break now will be nice, see my family hopefully for a bit more and then get some volume training which is what the other internationals will be doing now,” he said.

For Noemie Fox, it was her fourth bronze medal after two huge weekends of racing, and proud achievement.

“It was a good fight from start to finish. The first quarter final was a really stacked heat, really hard from start to finish so to come away with another final makes me really happy,” Fox said.

“Just to get that consistent practice and to close off with my fourth bronze medal is pretty cool. 

“It’s funny, it’s definitely a big shift to the slalom. I’m still getting used to the adaptation and I think I’m going for it a little bit more but it’s really great to get that practice with so many high quality athletes. 

“There was a whole world championships podium out there so yeah it was a really good battle,” Fox said.

The Australian athletes will now enjoy the chance for a little break, before returning to training in preparation for the international season, book ended by the Paris Olympic Games. 

“Closing off two big weekends, I’m going to have a little bit of a break to digest everything and then settle down but it was a really intense two week block and really high quality racing out there so definitely great to get that experience under the belt,” Fox said.

“I’m heading over to Europe probably around early May, so a lot of work to do before then but it’s cool to get a sense check of where I’m at,” she said.

Article and image courtesy of Paddle Australia