Tokyo Olympics 2021: Jess Fox admits to suffering self doubt in lead-up to gold medal-winning run

She may be the undisputed top paddler in the world but Aussie hero Jess Fox faced a ‘massive mental and emotional battle’ in the lead-up to her gold medal-winning performance.

Even the best in the world suffer from self-doubt at times.

It’s the front and centre revelation that has dominated conversation during the first week of the Tokyo Olympics and Australia’s latest golden girl Jessica Fox has revealed even she is not immune.

Less than 24 hours after her breakthrough gold in the women’s C1, Fox opened up about the “massive mental and emotional battle” she endured in the days preceding her success, having gone agonisingly close in the K1, claiming bronze.

Jess Fox drew on her mental strength to finally get the job done.

With an obvious smile made possible by the C1 gold dangling next to her K1 bronze, Fox revealed there were “definitely doubts” heading into her second final on Thursday.

“I felt like I didn’t quite get there in the kayak and was still thrilled to get on the podium given that it wasn’t my best run, but, yeah, there were definitely doubts, there was definitely a bit of a loss in confidence as well,” Fox said.

“It was a massive mental and emotional battle over the next couple of days to get myself back out there in the C1. It was the first time that I had two events (at the Olympics) so I hadn’t really dealt with that sort of emotional toll at a Games. It’s quite different to the world champs.

“It was very hard but also so amazing and rewarding, and at the end of the day I’m an experienced athlete. I need to trust my skills and that I can perform in the big moments so I’m glad that I did.”

Five years removed from her K1 bronze in Rio, the undisputed best paddler in the world said she sourced multiple means of mental preparation to get herself primed for golden glory in Tokyo.

That included compiling her thoughts in a journal, which regularly would feature “three lines”, but prior to the C1 final “there was about five pages of self-talk”.

Jess Fox got there at the third time of trying.

“I think the last five years I’ve worked really hard on the mental side of things and I’ve consulted a number of different people who have helped me,” Fox said.

“I’m a big reader. I love learning from other peoples’ experiences – I love leaning on other Olympic champions and hearing about how they’ve dealt with things.

“I actually thought about Anna Meares and her London experience, where it didn’t go to plan on the first day and her coach, Gary, sat her down and said: ‘What do you want to do, Mearesy’ and she came back and won gold. I did think about that.

“We’ve all got to do the work we’ve got to do to get us into the right mindset and I think I managed to pull it around.”

Yes you did, Jess. Savour the moment.

How Australia celebrated with Fox in golden redemption

Jess Fox was at the starting gate at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre. There was nobody there except two volunteers and the starting official. Not sure I’ve ever witnessed a more nerve-racking scene. She sat in her canoe and closed her eyes, breathing deeply as if she was in a meditative state.

It was so quiet and lonely up there that you might have heard her heartbeat if you listened closely. Ahead of her were 25 gates and a swirling, difficult, unpredictable course that had ripped her heart out a couple of days earlier. When she opened her eyes about 10 seconds before it was time to go, Fox looked ahead with a resolve I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before.

Jess Fox paddled like a woman possessed all her way to gold. Picture: AFP

She paddled like a woman possessed for the next 105.04 seconds, that look of steel remaining firmly in place, as she beat Great Britain’s Mallory Franklin and German’s Andrea Herzog to the gold medal she craved.

“I think it’s always about managing your emotions and managing your mental state in those last 30 seconds,” she said.

“I was just focusing on my breathing. I actually remember telling myself – my dad sent me a message, he’s in Australia, he said it takes courage and confidence and control. So I repeated those things to myself. I tried to focus on gate one and that was it.”

Twenty-four gates later, she was an Olympic gold medallist nine years after her debut as a bright-eyed teenager at London.

This was a popular win. While most paddlers have their own teammates running down the course, shouting their support, an unusual thing happened when Fox took off. Paddlers from other countries all joined the stampede, willing on her on, celebrating as wildly as the Australians when Fox won her maiden Olympic gold. Even Franklin seemed pleased, saying, “It’s Jess Fox. You have to understand how good she is.”

A relieved Fox with her head in her hands. Picture: AFP

Her mother, Miriam Fox-Jerusalmi, and her father, Richard, were outstanding canoeists who never won Olympic gold. Fox was in the fortunate position of having a parent at the Games because Miriam’s the national coach. Miriam dived into the rapids for a celebratory dip after Fox had finally succeeded where her parents had fallen short.

“My parents have been amazing role models, amazing inspirations, amazing support to me,” she said after overcoming her shattering third-place finish in the K1 event on Tuesday, when she suffered two time penalties that cost her gold.

JESS FOX YOU FLAT OUT LEGEND!!! OLYMPIC CHAMPION!! Could not think of an athlete more deserving - an incredible athlete but an even better person. YES! @jessfoxcanoe#tokyo2020#olympics#gold

— Dylan Alcott (@DylanAlcott) July 29, 2021

Women like Jess Fox doing so much to inspire the next gen 🥰 #thisgirlcanpic.twitter.com/kpKVjJEs0I

— Emily Benammar (@EmilyBenammar) July 29, 2021

Congrats Jessica Fox.
What a beautiful young lady.
What a competitor.
The perfect run.
Olympic Gold
& world champion 👏👏👏

— Newt (@PaulNew55072423) July 29, 2021

Jessica Fox.....what an amazing champion. That was so emotional.....she finally gets her 🥇🥇🥇 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 #Tokyo2020

— Greg Wells (@magpies1952) July 29, 2021

@jessfoxcanoe absolutely nailed it in the canoe slalom! No one was going to beat her this time.
Jessica Fox, what a champ. Massive smiles over here #Tokyo2020

— Jonathan Batten 🚀 (@JonathanBatten) July 29, 2021

Should not have cut onions while Jessica Fox got her gold medal… #Olympics

— Sean O'Sullivan (@SPiercePatrick) July 29, 2021

JESS FOX!!!!!!!! You are my freaking hero!!!!! So amazing!!!! 😭😭😭😭 #Tokyo2020

— Kurt Fearnley (@kurtfearnley) July 29, 2021

“Both being Olympians — Mum winning bronze, Dad missing the gold because of a penalty, Mum missing the gold because of a penalty. I think we’re all very emotional about these penalties, to win today it is a win for them, it is a win for our whole family. I am so thrilled to do it in C1, and share it with Mallory and Andrea, and all the women who competed for the first time in Tokyo.”

Fox’s is greeted by her mother and sister after her blistering run. Picture: Getty Images

Fox was Australia’s first Olympic slalom canoe champion. “Relief, pure joy, all the emotions,” she said. “It’s about doing the run you can in this very moment. The K1 final slipped away from me, and I was gutted.

My Dad sent me a message from Australia saying it would take courage. He said it was about being calm, confident and in control. I felt calm but I was also very nervous.

I actually had a moment before my final where I had to go around the back of the tents and throw up. That was my body telling me I was ready. I told mum I’d thrown up, but said I felt really good and then we fist pumped. I can’t believe I’ve done it.”

Fox celebrates on the medal dais in Japan. Picture: Getty Images

Fox admitted the defeat on Tuesday had taken a mental toll. “It has just been such a big couple of days. To come back after that was extremely hard, emotionally, mentally taxing, so I am so, so proud I was able to pull that run out today.”

She added: “I was dreaming of a gold medal and I really believed it was within me. I thought I could do it but you never know what is going to happen in the Olympics.

“It is about holding your nerve and I probably didn’t do that very well in the kayak a couple of days before, so it was hard to get to this point, but it has been incredible to do what I did today.”

A gold medal puts a golden smile on Jess’ face. Picture: Getty Images

Fox became emotional multiple times in the hours after her win. “It has been very tough,” she said.

“I think I relived my kayak race a million times in my head and, you know, each time it was that last upstream gate and how I could have done it differently and avoided the penalty.

“ It was very taxing. I had to do a lot of mental work over the past 48 hours. I have probably never been as nervous as I was today.

“Today, 20 minutes before my race, even though I felt really good and calm, I had a lolly, like a snake, and I instantly went and threw up. That has never happened to me before and I think it showed how full on it was today.”

Back in Australia, Richard Fox, working as a commentator for Channel 7, fought to control his emotions.

“I love you, I love you,” he said to his daughter on air. “Through the finish and beyond the finish, that was amazing. I was crying too. That was fantastic, I sat there and I was thinking, how are you going to do this?”

Jess replied: “Thanks for all the love, the support, the messages, I can’t wait to show you this one Dad.”

Emotions boilover for Jess Fox. Picture: Alex Coppel.

‘I was ready’: Not even pre-race vomit could stop Fox

Redemption has been 11 years in the making and now Australian paddler Jessica Fox has achieved her lifetime goal of winning an Olympic gold.

One of the toughest whitewater courses seen in recent times played into the hands of Fox, widely considered the greatest of all time in canoe slalom.

The world number one has now cemented herself as an Australian sporting legend with Thursday’s gutsy performance, off the back of a disappointing bronze finish in the K-1 earlier this week.

■ OLYMPICS LIVE: Follow all the action from Tokyo here

This gold will mean a little more for Jess Fox. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“It was such a big 48 hours after the kayak events,” she said.

“There was a lot of emotion involved, I’m thrilled to come back. I think it is always about doing the run that you can in this moment. We are in a tough sport where the conditions can change.”

Fox revealed she vomited just moments before her winning race but regardless she felt good.

“That’s my body telling me I’m ready for something,” she said.

“I felt really calm, nervous but I knew where I was ready.”

She said it was “special” to be crowned the first winner of the women’s C-1 event.

“I can’t believe I’ve become the first Olympic champion in history,” she said.

“I was thinking this was an amazing final to be a part of.

“I knew I had to be on my best game.”

Fox finally broke through for an elusive gold medal. Picture: Getty Images

She has become the first slalom paddler, male or female, to win an Olympic medal in canoe and kayak events.

Her efforts were all the more remarkable considering the scorching heat at the Kasai canoe slalom centre and that she was only one of eight women to give both K-1 and C-1 events a crack.

Her father Richard, who was commentating her golden run, couldn’t contain his excitement after the race.

“Wow, wow,” said Richard after his daughter crossed the line. “You know, I watched that and I’m thinking, ‘What is she going to do?’

“You look at that run from Mallory and if you chase it too hard, and you make a mistake, it can slip away. She held that together brilliantly! 15 and 16 she was worried about. I think she, she played that conservatively.

“That’s beautiful. That was wild. Look, she nearly, nearly fell away from that and that would have been devastating. Held it.”

She was embraced by mum and coach Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi moments after she finished the race while still in her canoe.

The pair were emotional as a lifetime dream was realised.

Fox was also embraced by dozens of members of the wider canoeing community.

Of the event debuting on the Olympic calendar, Fox previously said she hoped to show young girls they were equal to boys.

“It is a powerful moment for us and our sport,” Fox told News Corp Australia.

“We are thinking of those women who didn’t get that opportunity in the past who fought for us to be here today, and all the little girls who will get the chance in the future. It is very special.”