Guts, glory and gold medals: Fox returns to the Olympics a champion

Jess Fox answers her phone from an Airbnb in Vaires-sur-Marne, an area about 35 minutes from the centre of Paris.

It’s the town where the Nautical Stadium is located – the venue that will host the Olympic rowing and canoe-kayak events for Paris 2024. It’s also the Olympic venue where Fox will return as the reigning C1 gold medallist.

Fox and the rest of the Australian team have just spent a week training at the stadium before competing at a string of world cup competitions in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

By the time Fox returns to the Paris course in July for her final practice sessions, she will have another accolade to her name, after becoming the first paddler in history – male or female – to win gold in all three events at a world cup event.

It’s a list of accomplishments that led to Fox being appointed the Australian flag bearer, alongside Eddie Ockenden, for the Opening Ceremony.

A lot has changed for Olympic champion Jess Fox between Games.

There’s clanging and banging in the background as Fox goes through the trials and tribulations of packing up an Airbnb – towels in the bathroom, rubbish taken out, keys in the lock box.

She slams the door, before starting the short walk to the stadium for practice.

“We’ve got the first Olympic training camp at the moment, which is cool because we’re at the course, and the grandstands are up, and it’s just starting to feel very real,” Fox says.

“My reaction at the finish line was just so raw and big because I had put done a race that I was really proud of.”

Jess Fox on her gold medal winning moment in Tokyo

As the days tick down until she hits the water, the catharsis and emotion from her first gold medal three years ago is still fresh in Fox’s mind.

“It was so intense in terms of the relief and the joy,” Fox says. “It was such a huge build-up to that moment, and I think also the way the race played out [made it like that].

“I was last to start in the final, so I knew that when I crossed the finish line, that was the result of the race. Whereas, in other races, I might be ranked fourth in the semis, so I’ve still got three other paddlers behind, so when you cross the finish line you know you’ve done a good run, but you can’t have that same outpouring of emotion because you’ve still got to wait and see what the result will be.

Jess Fox after crossing the line to win gold in Tokyo.Credit: Getty Images

“I think it meant that my reaction at the finish line was just so raw and big because I had put down a race that I was really proud of, under that pressure and especially after all those years with the C1.

“It was a really special moment, and I felt like I seized that moment. That’s how I would describe it, it was like the biggest scream of joy and relief mixed together.”

Fox’s gold medal moment had been building for years. A 14-time world champion and 51-time world cup gold medallist, Fox claimed her first Olympic medal at 18-years-old at London in 2012.

Twelve years later, she’s the most successful paddler in the sport’s history, and has a real chance of sweeping the field in all three disciplines – kayak, canoe and kayak cross – in Paris.

A lot has changed since that first Olympics. Not just her results, but also how she spends her spare time during the Games.

“Every Games is different,” she says. “London, when it was my first Games, was very exciting and all new. The lead up to the Games was about doing my training, but then doing other things. Obviously resting, but not sort of sitting in my room and not socialising. I was out and in the village and discovering the village, or even going out into London.”

Now, she keeps things a little more low-key.

“I have things that I know work for me in terms of, I want to be hanging out with teammates and friends, or I want to be in my room reading or watching movies or painting. Things that are going to occupy me and pass the time. Because when you get to the Games, there’s a lot of waiting around, in a way because you’re sort of tapering.

“You’re only doing one session a day, and then you’re going to do physio, video review, all of that, [but] you have a lot of time to kill. So it’s sort managing that time and your rest periods to make sure you’re fresh mentally in the lead up, and also physically fresh too.”

Before the canoe and kayak events in Paris, you’ll find her analysing the course from the bank with her coach – running through the different tactics and scenarios.

“We will look at the gate positions in relation to the features. Whether a gate is on a wave or behind a wave will determine the line you take and your stroke pattern to make it the fastest line.

“So we’re looking at that as we’re walking the course, analysing – how do I want to be positioned here, what are the things I need to focus on, where do I need to accelerate, where do I need to slow down. We’re really sort of talking it through so that once I get to the start line I’ve done it in my head sort of what I need to do, but also have some room for adaptability because sometimes there might be wind that will shift a gate a couple of centimetres, which will change your line, or the gates might be a bit lower than you thought, so you might have to take a wider line.”

Fox will also watch other competitors if she has time. Watching them can give her insight into how the race plays out, and help her decide whether to be more daring or conservative in different sections.

But training on the course in the final weeks before the Olympics has also been invaluable.

“It’s all about learning each wave, crossing them, feeling the water under the boat, knowing how your boat’s going to react and where you should put your paddle. [It’s about] working on all those finer details, and then trying out all the different possible gate combinations and moves that could be set on the day so that when we see the course map, when we see the course set out, I know that I’ve done that move, I know that I can approach this gate a certain way. And if I haven’t done them, I’m confident enough in my feeling and my skills to be able to adapt and just do it and deal with it on the day.”

When she does finally touch the water for the kayak heats on July 27, she’ll be telling herself one thing.

“I think it’s like reminding myself that I’ve done the work, that I’m ready for this, and that I deserve to do my best paddling today,” she says.

“I just need to get out there and enjoy myself and my best paddling will shine through, and I deserve to do the best runs I can because I’ve worked hard to get here.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.