Jones eyes worlds after finals break-through

Tauranga kayaker Luuka Jones in action in her World Cup C1 final at La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, overnight. Photo by Mike Dawson.

Luuka Jones had a much-needed World Cup canoe slalom break-through overnight but also knows she's got more work to do before the upcoming world championships in Brazil.

The 29-year-old Kiwi paddler made her first final of the year on the La Seu d'Urgell course in Spain, qualifying fifth in her C1 semifinal with a classy 116.28sec time.

She finished seventh in the final, struggling along with a number of her rivals, as she posted a disappointing 137.85 in the decider.

'I had a mare in the final - I just over-thought everything and then made some huge mistakes,” says Jones.

'It's pretty disappointed but I guess it highlights I need to do more mental work before the worlds, although I'm really looking forward to getting back there and paddling on the course again.”

Jones leaves for Rio de Janeiro tonight, scene of her Olympic silver medal at the 2016 Games.

The hot favourite in Rio in both women's K1 and C1 will be Australian Jess Fox, who put the finishing touch on her history-making season with a fifth-consecutive C1 victory, maintaining her perfect record and sealing the overall season title.

Just 24 hours after wrapping up the K1 World Cup title, 24-year-old Fox secured the C1 title just by making the final.

No other athlete in the history of canoe slalom has won every race in a season, while no athlete has ever won both the K1 and C1 world titles in a single season.

Meanwhile, Italy's Giovanni De Gennaro became the fifth individual winner of the men's K1 this season, with Czech Jiri Prskavec finishing third and wrapping up the 2018 title.

New Zealand's Finn Butcher had a clean semifinal run, just 5.55secs from the leading qualifier, but the incredibly close nature of the men's field meant he finished in 25th, well outside the top-10 that went through.

It was still the Alexandra paddler's best performance at a World Cup, coming in the final series race of the season.

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