Kayaking
Australian world champ Jess Fox is charting a new course to greatness
Whether she’s canoeing or kayaking, Jess Fox is a versatile all-rounder who knows how to paddle her way to the biggest titles – get to know her career story here.
She might have a cabinet full of world titles and multiple Olympic medals, but Australia’s top paddler isn’t done yet.
A bit intense but also wonderful. That’s how the greatest paddler of all time, Jess Fox, describes her childhood growing up at the foot of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, with her parents and younger sister Noemie.
Her parents had had their own successful careers in paddling - mum Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi took home bronze at the 1996 Olympics for her home country of France, and dad Richard Fox won five individual and five team World Championships for Great Britain. In 1998, the pair packed up their life in Marseilles and moved to Sydney with their two young daughters to coach the Australian canoe slalom team ahead of the 2000 Olympics.
As Myriam and Richard put the Aussie team through their paces on the Nepean River, Jess and Noemie would head down after school and spend their time on the sidelines doing their homework and playing on the rocks while they waited for their parents to finish training. That is, until they were old enough to pick up a paddle themselves.
Jessica Fox
© Samuel Costin/Red Bull Content Pool
I've had two more Games under my belt since London, so I know how it all works
“I think I was about 13 to 15 or 16 when it got the most intense, in that there was that expectation,” says Jess. “My parents had been really good in the sport, so what was I going to be? Was I going to be good? Was I going to be average? Was I ever going to make it?”
Now nearly 30, the answer to that question couldn’t be more obvious. Whichever way you look at it, Jess Fox has made it. Thirty-eight World Cup gold medals. Nine World Championship titles. Silver at the 2012 London Olympics. Bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. And gold (and bronze) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
An Aussie in Paris
She might be running out of trophy space in her metaphorical pool room, but that doesn’t mean Jess is done. Not even close. The Paris Olympics are just around the corner, and this year she’ll be lining up at the starting gate for not one but three different events: kayak, canoe and kayak cross.
The 2024 Games will be Jess’ fourth time at the Olympics, after she made her debut at the 2012 Games in London at just 18 years old.
“I qualified in February 2012, and that's when I started to realise I was going to the Olympics, I was about to achieve a childhood dream,” says Jess. “For me, it was all about soaking in the experience, being in the village, going to the opening ceremony and then just trying to compete the best that I could, not really having expectations for a medal. I knew I could probably make the final and once I was in the final, it was like well, let's just see how we go.”
Jess not only made it into the final, she also came home with her first Olympic medal - a silver in the K1 event. It made her the youngest woman in canoe slalom to ever medal at an Olympics.
Twelve years on, Jess will be one of the more experienced members of the Australian team this time, but hasn’t lost any of the excitement of being on the international stage competing against the world’s best.
“Now coming into Paris, I've had two more games under my belt since London, so I know how it all works. [In London] I was this young, wide-eyed kid, admiring athletes I looked up to, and now it's kind of the opposite. There are younger athletes coming into the team who look up to me, and I'm one of the experienced athletes who's more of a role model and can share my experience with the other athletes. So the roles are a bit different now in this Olympic team, but it's still a really special feeling to be heading there. There's still the same preparation, the same nerves, the same excitement. In a way it's very different, but some things stay the same.”
This year, Jess will also have her French family and friends in the stands - some of them watching her race live for the first time - and is pumped to have crowds back again, after spectators were banned from the Tokyo Games during the pandemic.
Jessica Fox, Elena Apel and Evy Leibfarth celebrate
© Filip Nagy
01
The golden era of women’s sport
The other force spurring her on this year is the wave of support for women’s sport, which became a tsunami during last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We've got such an incredible breadth of female athletes who are just killing it. Whether it's in individual Olympic sports or action sports or team sport athletes, our female teams and individual athletes are just doing so well and I love to see it,” says Jess.
“I think [the World Cup] really primed people to open their minds to [women’s sport] a little bit more and to realise what an incredible spectacle it can be, and the performances that female athletes can give when they've got the backing and the support and the opportunity to do so. It's really starting to build momentum.”
Watch this video to learn how she deals with the pressure of coming from a family of athletes:
2 min
Focus Episode 6 Jessica Fox
Kayaker Jessica Fox on the pressures of coming from a family of Olympians and champions.
Training day
Closer to home, Jess has no shortage of inspiration to draw from - even in her own family. Her mum Myriam has been her coach since day one, and sister Noemie is her training partner. Home base is the Penrith Whitewater Stadium, not far from where they grew up playing after school, but these days Jess trains all around the world.
“We’re on training camp in Paris at the moment, so it’s quite intense. Training is twice a day, sometimes three times, on the white water honing our technical skills and getting familiar with the venue. Every course is different around the world, and for the Paris Games, this venue has got some unique features that require a bit of work,” says Jess.
During training, Jess splits her time between the kayak, canoe and kayak cross (making sure not to overdo the kayak cross to minimise the risk of injury in this brutal head-to-head form of the sport). Between white water sessions, she’s in the gym for strength training, at the physio, stretching or bunkering down for a video review. But being at the top of your game isn’t just about physical strength - mental strength is just as important.
“It’s like a muscle, working on your mindset and working on your mental strength. For me, it's been fairly organic throughout my career in that I had a race process that seemed to suit me and my style, my mental health has been fairly good and I’m grateful to not have had major mental health issues.
“I think part of that was being happy in doing what I was doing on the water and having a balanced life, because I think when you're putting everything into your sport and then suddenly it's not going well, that's when [you start to ask] ‘What's your identity? Is that just tied in with your sport?’ Those questions start coming up.”
For Jess, honing her mindset has meant hitting the books, listening to podcasts and working with people like elite performance coach Nam Baldwin, who’s coached other Red Bull athletes, as well as the team’s sports psychologist.
“We work on emotional regulation, regulating those nerves and that stress and the expectation and pressure and learning how to deal with that through breath work, through journaling, through different routines and processes so that when I'm in the start line, I can just feel calm and confident, and not distracted by the noise and the nerves.”
Jessica Fox during a training session at Penrith Whitewater Stadium
© Brett Hemmings
Race mode
Having been at so many start lines throughout her career, Jess has got her race day routine down pat. In the morning, she’ll eat a pretty plain and simple brekkie, then listen to music or journal if she needs to get herself in the right mindset. She gets to the course about two hours before the race and walks the course with her coach to map out the race plan. And although every course is different, Jess’ warm-up routine is similar each time, incorporating visualisation and breath work as the minutes tick down to her race. As for pre-race superstitions? You won’t find many of them here.
“I try to not be too superstitious, but that still does creep in sometimes,” says Jess. “Like if I've had a race already and it didn't go well, I won't wear the same gear. I’m like, ‘Those shorts have bad juju!’ But in terms of whether I need to kiss my right bicep then my left… no, I don't do any of that.”
What’s next?
With so many achievements under her belt, anyone would be forgiven for thinking that Jess will be ready to put the kayak away when she gets home from Paris later this year. But this champion has her sights set on another goal - the World Championships at home in Penrith next year. Retirement? Not yet.
“For me, it’ll be seeing how I feel after Paris, whether I want to compete in the last races of the season or whether I want to have a little break and come back fresh for next year's World Champs. It’s my home course and it'll be really special to race in front of a home crowd and have that support and energy.”
One thing’s for sure - that crowd’s going to have a front row seat to pure sporting excellence, as the greatest paddler of all time continues to strive for new heights.
“I get asked a fair bit how I'm still motivated to keep going when I've achieved what I have and what I dreamed of, which was winning world titles and winning the Olympic Games. I wasn't sure how I'd feel after I achieved those things, but I think what it's shown me is that the desire is still there to push myself to see how good I can be, to push the sport and elevate the standard and the level of women in my sport.”
Buckle up, Penrith!
Love kayaking? Watch the ABC... of Kayaking for free on Red Bull TV! There you'll also find the best in action sports movies, series, and documentaries.
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ABC of... Kayaking
Jessica Fox takes you on an epic run through the origins of kayaking and the paddlers who shaped the sport.
