Nearly 30 years after canoeing made its Olympic debut, women finally have a shot at gold.
On Tuesday, 22 women made history as they navigated the manufactured rapids of a white-water course in the slalom competition, the first time women appeared in an Olympic canoeing event. Eighteen of them are moving on to the semifinals, which begin at 1 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. The final is slated to start at 2:55 a.m.
During qualifying heats on Tuesday, Britain’s Mallory Franklin, the 2017 world champion, set the fastest time, at 105.06 seconds. Jessica Fox of Australia, a four-time canoe slalom world champion, and Evy Leibfarth, a 17-year-old from North Carolina, will also compete on Thursday.