Kate Eckhardt has sensationally claimed bronze in the women's K1 for Australia's second medal at the slalom world championships.
Eckhardt finished the Penrith Whitewater Stadium course in 103.84 seconds during Friday's final to reach the podium, while Noemie Fox finished 12th, and last.
Lucien Delfour fell short of adding to Australia's medal haul, finishing fifth in the men's final after an agonising mistake in the dying seconds of his run.
Eckhardt finished behind Polish paddler Klaudia Zwolinska, who snared back-to-back gold medals with a time of 100.32 seconds.
Great Britain's Kimberley Woods was second.
Zwolinska is the first woman to win both C1 and K1 gold at the world championship since Australian superstar Jess Fox completed the feat in 2018.
France's Titouan Castryck claimed gold in the men's K1 final, flaunting blistering pace to finish the course in 90.81 seconds.
Eckhardt's bronze is her career-best individual finish at worlds, easily knocking off her 28th place in 2018.
The 28-year-old was the third paddler to have a solo crack at the course but her time stood the test, placing her ahead of top-seeded German Ricarda Funk and French heavyweight Camille Prigent.
Hobart product Eckhardt's medal is Australia's second after Kaylen Bassett claimed bronze in the men's C1 event on Thursday.
"It's pretty surreal," Eckhardt said.
"Ricarda's always someone I've looked up to. Camille's someone I've raced against and we're the same age.
"To be pushing against those guys is really, really special.
"I just wanted to put it all out there and see what happened.
"After Klaudia came down with such a beautiful run, I wasn't feeling overly confident, but I held on to third, which is amazing."
Meanwhile, reigning Olympic kayak cross champion Noemie Fox was left lamenting a missed opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing ninth-placed finish in the women's C1 event.
But the 28-year-old will return to the course on Saturday for the knock-out kayak cross rounds.
Australian paddler Delfour looked on song for a podium finish with a flawless opening stint before he touched the second-last gate, earning him a two-second penalty.
His adjusted time was 92.96 seconds, while teammate Tim Anderson was 10th.
Fellow Australian Ben Pope endured heartbreak earlier on Friday, placing 27th in the semi-final after copping a two-second penalty for touching the first gate and a 50-second penalty for missing gate six.
