Champion paddler Jess Fox back on whitewater as planning for Tokyo starts anew
Champion canoeist Jess Fox was only allowed back to training last week and has to observe all the strict social distance protocols that are in place, including getting changed in her car.
Olympics
Don't miss out on the headlines from Olympics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Every few days, Jess Fox’s mobile phone lights up with a fresh notification about the Tokyo Olympics.
“Fly to Japan.
“Training camp in Tokyo.
“World Cup meet.”
None of the alerts count anymore because the Olympics have been postponed for 12 months because of COVID-19, so serve as a cruel reminder to Australia’s champion paddler about what she would have been doing if it wasn’t for the lockdown.
Get your sport fix on Kayo ahead of live games returning soon - classic match replays, documentaries and the latest news & announcements. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Her heart sinks a little every time she reads the messages but she keeps them on her phone to remind her about why she needs to keep looking forward.
“Every time I see one I’m like ‘argh, I should be doing this,’” Fox told The Sunday Telegraph.
“But in a way I kind of like the reminders so I don’t think I will delete them because next years we’re all going to have flashbacks about what we’re doing now.”
Instead of preparing in Japan, Fox has just resumed training at Penrith’s Whitewater Stadium.
She was only allowed back on the slalom course last week and has to observe all the strict social distance protocols that are in place, including getting changed in her car.
“It’s better than nothing,” she said.
“I’ve been doing a little bit of flat water paddling on the Nepean River so to get two days a week on whitewater is really good.
“It’s obviously been challenging, just staying home all the time, but I feel like it’s gone quite fast and I’m ready and excited to go again.”
Fox has been keeping herself in shape by doing gym work at home and keeping her mind sharp by learning how to juggle. Or trying to.
In preparation for Olympic Day, on June 23, Fox has set herself the goal of juggling for a minute.
“It looks so easy when proper jugglers do it,” she said. “But the longest I’ve been able to so far is 20 seconds.”
Juggling tennis balls is one thing to pass the time but the 25-year-old is itching to race again but still doesn’t know when she will be allowed. The International Canoe Federation is hoping to resume competition in Europe later this year but Fox will only be allowed to go if Australia’s overseas travel bans are lifted.
“We can do our own race simulations at training but the races overseas are where we get the most value,” she said.
“It’s going to be a big disadvantage for us if we can’t go overseas and travel and train on different course because our sport is so much about adaptability and skill development on different courses.”
Originally published as Champion paddler Jess Fox back on whitewater as planning for Tokyo starts anew