Paris Games 2024: No outfoxing a Fox in this argy-bargy water derby

Noemie Fox’s Olympic desires previously had an insurmountable obstacle: older sister Jess.

An ecstatic Jess Fox congratulates her gold-medal winning sister, Noemie. Picture: Getty Images

Noemie Fox is at the starters gate. Dodgem cars on water. A spin of a roulette wheel in Paris. She doesn’t have the fearsome game face of big sister. There’s an impish smile when she’s introduced. She blushes and looks almost pensive. Blows kisses to her audience. Anything can happen here.

Four paddlers are engaging in a demolition derby at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium: the kayak cross final. It’ll be on for young and old. It’s a chaotic, wham-bam, argy-bargy event. They’re wearing elbow guards for a reason. Fox was born at Marseilles before the family pitched its tent in Sydney. Her name translates to “pleasant, agreeable, beautiful, delightful”, but it’s neither the time nor place for those enchanting traits.

You need pluck, and you need luck, and they’re off. Fox paddles like the clappers. Crashes into Kimberley Woods. The Brit breaks free. Fox is second when they go twisting, turning, squirming and slaloming through the churning, skittish whitewater. Human-pinballing. And then, and then! Woods collides with France’s Angele Hug. And then, and then! Fox has clear water. Her elder, famous sibling, Jess, the three-time Olympic champion, with two golds in Paris, goes sprinting along the path with her most erudite and impassioned advice. Go! Go! Go!

Noemie goes and goes and goes. Far out, Hug and Wood are spinning out. Noemie goes and goes and goes. Jess may have a heart attack right here on the spot. And then, and then! Noemie wins by the proverbial. Bedlam. Big sister’s going berko. Noemie throws her paddle away like it’s given an electric shock. Her face goes into her hands. An out-of-body, out-of-my-sister’s-shadow experience. You can’t outfox a Fox.

If the sisters were a country, at the time of writing, they’d be 15th on the gold medal tally, ahead of Brazil, Spain, Ukraine and Croatia. “It feels surreal,” Noemie says. “It’s crazy that it’s mine. You don’t really dare to dream this big, but I really did this time. There’s no words to describe that feeling. I have never been so driven. I dared to dream.”

Noemie Fox a celebrates with her gold medal for the women's kayak cross. Picture: AFP

A Fox was favourite to win the kayak cross, but not this one. Never this one. Noemie is 27, Jess is 30. Their parents, Richard and Myriam, were Olympic canoeists. They never jagged a victory. The sisters must look at them now and think, what were you people even doing?

Noemie’s reaction in the water is a squealing, beaming, gleaming, trembling explosion of happiness. That’s what it looks like. Just pure happiness. Big sister and mum leap into the water. Mind the rip, stuff the rip. Second is Hug, who’s delivering a few. Third is Woods, and bravo to her, too. She knows about living in the shadows. In her darkest days, she’s considered taking her own life. Everyone has their story.

Fox is walking away from the presentation ceremony when she gazes at the gold medal that so matches her gold earrings. In absolute awe and wonder, she whispers to Woods, “It’s beautiful.”

Sure is. All of it. Wanting to be great. Watching your big sister be great instead. Well done, Jess. Congratulations, Jess. Always in the background. But always thinking, I reckon I can do it, too. When she beats Jess en route to her fantastic, fairytale final, big sister tells her, “All right. Take it all the way.”

Noemie’s Olympic desires previously had an insurmountable obstacle. Jess. Australia could choose only one canoeist. Jess. The addition of kayak cross to the Olympic program opened a second position. Finally, after all these years, Noemie had the chance to simply become an Olympian

“There’s so much respect, there’s so much admiration, but it’s always been hard with just one spot available for the Olympics,” Noemie says. “When there were two, when there was that opportunity, she really helped me invest so much into my own campaign and my own self confidence and self-worth. I’m her biggest cheerleader, just like she’s mine.”

Noemie has heard all her life, you’re a canoeist, too? Who knew? At the Tokyo Games, can you ­believe this, it was Noemie introducing the starters over the public address system in her unmistakably pleasant, agreeable, beautiful and delightful tones. The same tones that used to inquire of Dad, how is life fair? Or as Richard puts it, “‘How can I ever go to the Olympics? Jess is so good’,” he recalls. “It’s stunning. She’s not the biggest or the strongest but she’s improved her technique. She’s transformed herself into an athlete who dominates in the arena. She had to go through all those phases where you think, ‘It’s not fair’. Jess has been a machine over many years. She still had to deliver but Noemie, she had to reinvent herself. So as a dad … watching her do that is the most amazing piece. Kids grow up and you want to see them do whatever they choose and own it. And she’s probably going to be able to tell that story for the rest of her life. I was the sister of somebody. Now I’m somebody.’’

Jess is crying and screaming so wildly she may pop a vein. Little sister has taken it all the way. She’s embarked on the pursuit of Olympic selection, the pursuit of a gold medal, the pursuit of self-worth, the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of her own identity.

Traditionally, sports outside swimming don’t contribute a lot of gold to the Australian cause. Betty Cuthbert and Shirley Strickland won four track events at Melbourne in 1956. Australia’s chef de mission in Paris, Anna Meares, contributed to six cycling golds at Athens in 2004. Now three canoeing golds have come the same family tree. You can’t outfox either Fox.

Big sister says: “I’m just in awe of her. It’s absolutely incredible. She’s Olympic champion and she’s worked so hard for that. She is just – oh, I’m so happy for her. I’m just so incredibly proud of what she’s done.”

Little sister says: “I think there will always be that shadow. Jess is the greatest of all time in our sport. That’s something that when I was starting out, was really hard to deal with. But watching her win, it’s just such a privilege and an inspiration and it really fuelled me. When someone like that really ­believes in you and tells you, ‘You’ve got it, you’ve got to go and get it’, that’s what you do. I got my moment and it’s my medal and we’re walking away with three gold medals in our family. Which is insane. It’s just pure joy.”