Gibson wins team gold but Florence fails to make semis

Another team gold for Edinburgh University student Eilidh Gibson offered ample consolation for Scotland’s canoeists following an unexpected failure for triple world champion and threetime Olympic medallist David Florence at the European Slalom Championships in Slovenia yesterday.

Florence will take no further part in the championships after wasting two chanc- es to qualify for tomorrow’s C1 semi-finals, but Crieff’s 2013 gold medallist Fiona Pennie eased through third quickest in the K1 kayak heats before Gibson provided the highlight of the day in the C1 team event.

As in Slovakia last May, the British squad of Gibson, pictured, Mallory Franklin and Kim Woods proved too strong for their rivals, finishing four seconds clear of nearest challengers Germany. “You can’t complain about that!” smiled 21-year-old Gibson. “We were under pressure as the defending champions, but we got the job done again.”