Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Woods conquers her mental struggles to achieve medal dream
KIMBERLEY Woods’ bronze medal-winning redemption took less than 150 seconds to confirm, but the wait felt like an eternity for the kayaker.
The 28-year-old, who three summers ago in Tokyo was visibly distraught after incurring 56 seconds’ worth of penalties for a bottom finish in her maiden Olympic final, was sitting in third position with just one competitor left who could knock her off the Paris podium – defending champion Ricarda Funk, the fastest finisher from the afternoon’s semis.
But the German made a mistake at the bottom of the course for a 50-second penalty to finish 11th in 149.08, ensuring Woods’ 98.94 was good enough for her first Olympic medal behind first-placed Australian Jessica Fox and Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska, who sneaked into silver with the penultimate run.
Woods said: “It feels absolutely incredible. I can’t believe how long my journey’s been.
“I’ve been paddling for 20 years now and finally have a medal around my neck.
“Ricarda Funk coming down, I couldn’t watch. I was on my knees, I was head in hands not being able to watch and all of a sudden I heard the crowd shout something and there was a mistake and I was like: ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’ve done it.’
“That whole journey of where I’ve come from in the last 10 years has been incredible.
“I’m really proud of who I am today, being able to be open and speak, use my platform for good.”
Woods has been candid about her long-term struggles with mental health and self-harm, and twice checking into private mental health hospital the Priory and admitting to experiencing suicidal thoughts at her lowest points.