Olympics LIVE: Team GB’s Mallory Franklin denied gold in canoe slalom; Matthew Coward-Holley wins shooting bronze – ESPN

Team GB’s Mallory Franklin was denied gold in the women’s C1 canoe slalom on day six of the Tokyo Olympics after Australia’s Jessica Fox won the event on Thursday.

Franklin completed the course in 108.68 seconds, with a two-second penalty after hitting Gate 15, to take home the silver medal. The 27-year-old was 3.64 second behind Fox.

World No. 2 Franklin had finished fastest in the heats, but she finished sixth in the semifinal.

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“I’ve had a struggle in my finals so to put down a run like that, even with that touch, was amazing for me,” Franklin told BBC Sport.

“It was so stressful being sat up there on the start line, but I had a moment where I thought ‘I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else’ — it’s just really cool.

“I didn’t lose time with [the touch] and it was easy to keep building and stay focused. I hate then sitting watching people and you never know what will happen.”

The women’s C1 event is making its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 as the sport moves closer to gender parity. Franklin’s silver medal is Team GB’s ninth medal in Olympic canoe slalom history.

Matthew Coward-Holley claimed Team GB’s first medal of the day after picking up bronze in the men’s trap shooting on Thursday.

Coward-Holley finished on 33/40 and only missed out by a shot to make the gold medal playoff.

“Being my first Olympic final, the first little bit is always that little bit of tension, that little bit of nerves,” Coward-Holley said. “But you’ve just got to relax and trust yourself that you can do it.

“It’s a little bit of a mix of emotions. I’m a bit lost for words. It’s my first Olympics so to come away with a medal, it’s phenomenal.”

Earlier in the day, there was heartbreak for the British rowers who narrowly missed out on bronze medals.

Helen Glover and Polly Swann finished in fourth place in the women’s pair as the European champions finishing more than two seconds off a bronze medal position.

“In Rio I said it was my last one,” Glover told BBC Sport. “This time I’m saying ‘no, it’s definitely it.’ Everyone around me keeps going ‘no, no, you’re going to do the single,’ but I definitely don’t see myself coming back. It’s definitely not in the pipeline.”

Thank you for your support and messages 🙏🏻 SO proud to make the Olympic final & come home with 4th. @PollySwann has been the most incredible teammate and you’ve all been amazing support. Thank you!! Now can we invent a teleport machine to get me straight home to the little ones?? pic.twitter.com/JHe7TZBOnK

— Helen Glover (@Helenglovergb) July 29, 2021

It was even more agony an hour later after fellow British rowers Emily Craig and Imogen Grant finished just 0.01 seconds short of bronze in the lightweight women’s double sculls.

It has been a difficult time for the British rowers as they have now finished fourth in five events at the Games.

“There are six crews and I think we all deserved a medal! It was about who was able to get it just right on the day,” Grant said. “We were pretty close but I think we did everything we could.

“We left everything out there and obviously it was pretty gutting to not be coming away with a medal around our necks — I’m sure us and plenty of other people had hoped for that to be the case.”

In boxing, Frazer Clarke ended his 10-year wait for his Olympic debut, beating Ukraine’s Tsotne Rogava on points in his round of 16 bout.

“It’s a great feeling. Waiting is something I’ve become very good at so seven days wasn’t too long to be honest,” Clarke said.

“I had a couple of days off before this fight and it served me well. Once I got into the ring, I was ready to go.”