Jess Fox, Australia's all-time great paddler, has been left exhausted after notching up another sporting landmark, winning a remarkable fourth consecutive World Cup kayak slalom race in Pau.
The Olympic C1 champ was in a class of her own on Saturday at one of her favourite French venues, adding yet another global title to the three she won across Europe in June in Prague, Krakow and Tacen.
After her 39th individual World Cup race win, the Penrith star looks sure to be crowned overall World Cup K1 champion again for the fourth consecutive time after the finals in La Seu, Spain next weekend.
"It's so special to take another win today and my fourth gold of the series. I couldn't have hoped to have a better end to the kayak," said the 28-year-old, who will be trying to add titles in the canoe and extreme events on Sunday.
Fox dominated Saturday morning's race, despite a run that featured a couple of penalty points when she had a touch on gate five.
Yet she was so much faster than her opponents over the rapids - 1.80 seconds quicker than the next swiftest - that she wouldn't be denied.
"I was definitely nervous for this final. I knew I had no room for error after I'd made the mistake and I tried to just push to the finish," she said.
"It's such a physical course that I was absolutely exhausted at the finish line.
"I really like paddling in Pau. I've been coming here for many years. It feels a bit like home."
Poland's Natalia Pacierpnik had set the pace with a flawless clear run but she could only watch helpless as Fox repeated her 2021 Pau triumph, ultimately finishing 1.80 ahead. Czech Tereza Fiserova was third.
Fox was back to the top of the podium after winning two silvers in the C1 and K1 at the world championships in Augsburg last month, when she also took the extreme title for which she'll be favourite when the event makes its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
© AAP 2022