Olympic champion Jessica Fox’s younger sister Noemie Fox has been ‘waiting my whole life’ to paddle for gold — even if it means beating her gold medal-winning sibling

It’s the race Noemie Fox has been “waiting my whole life for” even if it means beating the sport’s greatest of all time — her sister Jessica Fox — to succeed, it’s what she is ready to do at the Paris Olympic Games. PLUS: Frustrated paddler Ben Manning quits.

It’s the race Noemie Fox has been “waiting my whole life for” even if it means beating the sport’s greatest of all time — her sister Jessica Fox — to succeed, it’s what she is ready to do at the Olympic Games in Paris later this morning.

The challenge for the younger Fox is the GOAT paddler is her sister Jessica, already a three-time Olympian and among the favourites for the newly introduced kayak cross event in which her sister will also compete. Noemie Fox was named in Australia’s canoe slalom team for the Olympics on Monday after winning a quota spot in the kayak cross at the global qualification event in Prague last month.

The dream scenario for the 27-year-old is to be sitting at the start gates for the final in just over a month’s time, with Jess alongside her as two Aussies race for gold in the sport’s newest and most exciting discipline.

Sisters Jess (L) and Noemie (R) Fox will battle it out in Paris. Picture: Supplied

Already a three-time Olympian, with four medals, including a gold from Tokyo, Jess heads to Paris as a genuine medal chance in the slalom canoe and kayak, as well as Noemie Fox’s kayak cross event.

“With Jess, I do hope we only see each other in the final, that would be incredible,” Fox said.

“I think it would startle me if I see her in the first heat and that’s not something we ideally want.

“But it is possible for the same two to go through together all (the way) into the final and that’s what we’d definitely be hoping for.”

In training, the pair practice various attacking and defensive scenarios for the event that is akin to BMX racing or the Winter Olympics’ ski cross where several competitors burst from gates and race each other down a challenging whitewater course in what Fox describes as a “contact sport”.

The challenge for Fox is taking that mentality into racing, even if one of the competitors is her sister.

“I think it’s also understanding that at the end of the day, I’m an individual competitor for Australia in this race that I’ve been waiting for my whole life and I don’t think I’ll be letting anyone go in front of me easily or overtake me easily, even if that’s my sister,” she said.

Noemie Fox won’t let competing against her sister Jess stop her. Credit: Paddle Photography

The road to an Olympic berth has not been easy for Noemie Fox given there is only one quota spot per country available in the canoe and kayak slalom events — with Jess the defending champion in the former and a three-time medallist in the other.

Eligible to represent both France, the country of her mother’s birth, and Great Britain, where her father is from, Fox has had opportunities to pull on different colours and become the fourth member of her family to become an Olympian.

“I think at some point in your career, you go through a lot of questions and reasons as to why you do this sport and for me … I’d kind of come to terms with (the fact that) I don’t do it just to try and make the Olympics,” she said.

“I think what has been the most frustrating part has never being able to have a shot at an Olympic qualification but this time around for the Paris cycle, there was that shot, so no matter how slim it was, we really did everything we could to go and get that spot.”

Neomie Fox is officially Paris bound. Picture: Supplied

Noemie Fox has been in the stands or on the ground to watch Jess at the past three Olympic Games: in London with family; Rio with a group of friends; and Tokyo as a member of the workforce at the course.

And she is now ready to take her place, where she could hold an advantage over a gruelling schedule as one of only three athletes in the kayak cross who will not have already competed in the individual kayak or canoe disciplines - or both, as Jess will have.

“Rio (2016) I definitely was not ready and in Tokyo (2021) it was kind of hard seeing other people that I was more competitive than, or better (than), to qualify or have an easy qualification and me having the greatest of all time (Jess) in those two categories,” Fox said.

“But I do think that it’s happened at such an incredible time for me in my career where I think I’m just a lot more mature and able to handle how big the Olympics is and to be able to compete and be a lot more competitive now anyway.

“I’ve definitely come to terms with (the fact that) I don’t do the sport just to make the Olympics but when there is an opportunity, I’ll definitely seek it and be as competitive and ready as I can be.”

Paddler quits sport after losing Olympic selection battle

Frustrated paddler Ben Manning has decided to end his canoeing career after failing to reverse the national body’s decision to leave him out of the Paris Olympic team.

Manning provisionally secured an Olympic quota spot for Australia in the canoe sprint C1 1000 event in Paris when he won the Oceania championship in Penrith in February.

But he finished outside the performance standard time when winning the C1 1000m heat and final at the Oceania championships and Paddle Australia (PA) canoe sprint championships – the governing body’s selection events – this year.

Left off of the Olympic team, the 25-year-old appealed against the decision at the National Sports Tribunal (NST) on the grounds that PA had not properly applied nomination criteria.

He said the national body had failed to use the discretionary powers available to it and used time criteria alone.

Sole arbitrator Steve Strickland KC eventually upheld the appeal on the basis that PA’s statement of reasons for Manning’s non-nomination was inconsistent.

In its explanation to Manning, the governing body said the selection panel had exercised discretionary powers and decided against his selection, while submissions made to the tribunal stated discretionary powers need not be exercised and hadn’t been in Manning’s case.

In upholding the appeal, though, the NST returned the matter to PA for reconsideration and Manning said he was then “unsurprisingly” notified of his failure to win selection.

“Despite winning the appeal the decision is once again referred back to the original selection board and unsurprisingly I was shortly notified of my non-nomination with little explanation short of not being a medal chance at the Games,” Manning wrote in a post on Instagram.

“Given this is the second time that my national federation has decided that sending no one to the Games is better than sending me, I have come to the difficult conclusion to end my paddling journey here as I just cannot see a path forward in an organisation that doesn’t want to support the discipline.”

Ben Manning had ended his canoeing career. Picture: Facebook, Paddle Australia

Paddle Australia said it was “aware that an athlete appealed their selection in the C1 1000 for the Australian Olympic Team to the National Sports Tribunal”.

“Paddle Australia worked with the National Sports Tribunal as outlined in our selection policy,” a Paddle Australia statement said.

“At the completion of the tribunal process the decision to not nominate Ben Manning for Olympic selection remained the same.”

Manning said the decision would not be the end of him in elite sport.

“This is not the end of my life as an athlete and I look forward to trying new ventures and seeing how far I can go,” he said.

Originally published as Olympic champion Jessica Fox’s younger sister Noemie Fox has been ‘waiting my whole life’ to paddle for gold — even if it means beating her gold medal-winning sibling