Four days after carrying the flag to open Australia’s Paris Olympic Games campaign, Sydney University 2012 Female Blue of the Year, Jess Fox backed up with a gold medal in the Women’s Slalom K1 and defended her Olympic title in the Women’s Slalom C1 Event.
Fox posted a time of 96.08 in the Kayak-1 final to edge out Poland’s Claudia Zwolinska (97.53) for silver and Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods (98.94) for the bronze. While in the Slalom C-1 powered toward Gold with an impressive time of 101.06, with silver medallist Elena Lilik finishing at 103.54.
Fox is competing at her fourth Olympics, having made her debut as an 18-year-old at the 2012 London Games where she won silver in the slalom K1. At Rio in 2016, Jess claimed Bronze in the same event. She topped that with gold in the slalom C1 and bronze in the slalom K1 at the 2020 Tokyo Games. This being the sixth individual medal for Fox surpasses Australian greats including Ian Thorpe, Leisel Jones, Shirley Strickland, Shane Gould, Anna Meares, and Ariarne Titmus, who each have won five.
The former Sydney Uni Elite Athlete Program member recently became the first paddler to win three gold medals at a single ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup when she won the canoe, kayak, and kayak cross events at the recent regatta at Augsburg, Germany. She won the canoe final on Saturday, the kayak final on Sunday and backed up on Monday to claim the kayak cross to take her World Cup gold medal tally to a record 51.
Fox became the first Australian canoe slalom athlete to compete at four Olympics when she dipped her oars in the water in the first heat in Paris.
Born in Marseille, Fox moved to Australia with her family when she was four. She said she was overwhelmed to be asked to carry the flag. “It’s probably the greatest moment of my career,” she said. “Obviously that French connection is very strong and it’s such a wonderful, special, unique moment to be able to bring my two cultures together: the French, and the Australian. To lead us out and present us to Paris, present us to the world … visualising those incredible moments over the next two weeks that will happen, just gives me goosebumps.”
Her Paris Campaign continued with the women’s Kayak Cross, however younger sister Noemie beat her to the post in the Quarter Finals.
