Competition is being staged at the Lee Valley White Water Centre which hosted canoe slalom at the London 2012 Olympics, and began with the gold medals shared across the four team events on a blustery day.

Britain started with a successful effort in the women's C1 team through Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mallory Franklin, Kimberley Woods and Ellis Miller.

Franklin and Woods were part of the last British team which won the event at the World Championships in 2018, while Miller was a late replacement for the injured Sophie Ogilvie.

The trio clocked 112.45sec on a clear run, beating the only other team who avoided penalties in the Czech Republic by 2.10.

Slovenia with a two second penalty on the penultimate gate placed third in 115.32.

In the other women's team event, Australia triumphed for the first time in the K1.

Four-time Olympic medallist Jessica Fox including a K1 silver at Lee Valley at London 2012, her sister Noemie Fox and Kate Eckhardt were the only team who were error-free in taking gold in 108.62.

Spain were second in 108.91 after a two second penalty on the 15th of 18 gates, and Britain third in 109.02 despite the fastest raw time after two gate touches cost them four seconds.

On the men's side, France reclaimed their C1 team title in 99.17 through Nicolas Gestin, Jules Bernardet and Lucas Roisin, edging Britain by just 0.03.

The medallists were all penalty-free, with Italy taking bronze in 100.31.

Reigning Olympic champion Jiří Prskavec along with Vít Přindiš and Jakub Krejčí helped Czech Republic to win the men's K1 team event in 91.76, beating France by 1.23.

The top two each enjoyed clean runs, and a two second penalty did not prevent Poland from taking bronze in 95.23.

The ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships is set to continue tomorrow with the men's and women's C1 heats.

There are no canoe slalom team events at the Olympics, but individual competition is serving as a qualifier for Paris 2024.