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Joe Clarke and Kimberley Woods claimed silver and bronze medals respectively as kayak cross made a wet and wild entry onto the Olympic programme in front of packed grandstands in the Nautical Stadium at Vaires-sur-Marne.
Clarke, who went into the event as a heavy favourite with three world titles to his name, had to settle for second throughout in a relatively straightforward four-man final behind Finn Butcher of New Zealand.
Woods, the reigning world champion, had blazed through her quarter and semi-finals in first place and looked set to also dominate her final as she led at the half-way point.
But a mistake allowed all three of her opponents to surge past her, and only the disqualification of Germany’s Elena Lilik allowed Woods to add to the bronze she had also claimed in the women’s K1 category earlier in the Games.
Clarke was also celebrating his second Olympic medal, after winning gold in Rio in 2016 before being controversially overlooked for selection for the Tokyo Games three years ago.
For kayak cross – in which all four competitors crash down the white-water course together, and are required to pass through gates and perform an eskimo roll – it was a hugely successful debut on the Olympic programme.
It follows the successful introduction of snowboard cross and ski cross categories at the Winter Olympics.
