# Jessica Fox (canoeist)

Jessica Esther Fox OAM (born 11 June 1994) is a French-born Australian Olympic and world champion slalom canoeist.
Fox made her Olympic debut at 18 years of age in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she won a silver medal in the K1 event. She won a bronze medal in the same event four years later in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and again at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, before finally winning the gold medal in the K1 event in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Fox is the sole Olympic champion in the C1 event, having won the gold medal in Tokyo at the 2020 Summer Olympics when the event debuted at the Olympic Games, and again finishing first at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Her six olympic medals make her the most decorated canoe slalom paddler, male or female, in Olympic history. She also won a gold medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in the K1 event.
Fox has won 22 medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with 14 golds (C1: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018; K1: 2014, 2017, 2018, 2023; C1 team: 2013, 2015, 2019; K1 team: 2023; Kayak cross: 2021, 2022), five silvers (C1: 2019, 2022; K1: 2019, 2022; C1 team: 2017) and three bronzes (C1: 2010, 2023; K1 team: 2017). Her ten gold medals in individual events make her the most successful paddler, male or female, in World Championship history.
Fox has won the overall World Cup title seven times in the C1 class (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024) and five times in the K1 class (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023). She has finished the year as the World No. 1 in C1 12 times, including an uninterrupted streak from 2013 to 2023, and World No. 1 in K1 eight times.
Fox, a ten-time individual world champion, twelve-time World Cup champion and three-time individual Olympic champion, is considered the greatest individual paddler of all time.
During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Fox was elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission as one of four new members until the Brisbane 2032 Games.

## Early life

Fox was born in Marseille, France, and when she was four years old, she moved to the suburb of Penrith, in Sydney, with her family. Fox is Jewish, as is her mother, whereas her father is not. Her parents are Richard Fox and Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, who both competed as canoeists at the Olympics: her father for Great Britain at the 1992 Games, and her mother for France at the 1996 Games, where she won a bronze medal. Her father is Second Vice President of the International Canoe Federation, as well as Australian Canoeing's high-performance manager, and a five-time world champion. Her younger sister Noemie Fox is also a world and Olympic champion slalom canoeist, and her aunt Rachel Crosbee is a former world championship slalom canoe silver medalist.
Fox attended Leonay Public School and then Blaxland High School, where she completed her HSC year in 2011 by ranking first in New South Wales for PDHPE, and achieved an ATAR score of 99.1. She studied in the Elite Athlete Program at the University of Sydney, where she is working on a degree in media/communications. She is studying for a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at Swinburne Online. She is bilingual in English and French.
Fox suffered a back injury that impacted her performance in 2012.

## Career

Fox races in K1, C1 and Kayak Cross events and is coached by her mother, Myriam. She started in the sport in 2005 by canoeing on the Nepean River. She has a scholarship and is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Sport and the New South Wales Institute of Sport. In club competitions, she represents the Penrith Valley Canoe Club.

### 2009–2012: Rise through the ranks

In September 2009, Fox made her Australian senior national team bid. She competed at the 2009 ICF World Ranking in Merano, Italy, finishing third in the K1 event. At the 2009 AYOF event in Penrith, New South Wales, she finished first in the women's K1 event.
Fox placed 5th in the K1 event and won a bronze medal in the C1 event at the 2010 World Championships in Tacen. At the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, she won the gold in the girls' K1 slalom event. At the 2010 Junior World Championships in Foix, she won gold in K1, and won the inaugural C1 event at that level. She won her first World Cup by taking out the C1 event at the third round in La Seu d'Urgell. Domestically, Fox won the C1 event and placed 9th in the K1 event at the Oceania Continental Championships in Penrith (counting to World Cup points), and placed 1st and 3rd at the National Championships in Eildon, Victoria, in the C1 and K1 events, respectively.
In 2011, Fox won gold medals in the C1 event at World Cups 2 and 3. At the 2011 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, she finished 19th, which gave Australia an automatic spot in the event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She won silver medals at Australian Open and the Oceania Championships in the women's K1 event in 2011.
In 2012, Fox was selected to represent Australia for the first time at the Olympics in the women's K-1 event, where she won the silver medal at the age of 18. Her pre-Olympic schedule included training on the Olympic course in London in April, and World Cup competitions in Wales, France and Spain, plus the Junior World Championship in the United States. Her result has been described as competitive revenge against the 44-year-old Czech paddler Štěpánka Hilgertová, who had beaten Fox's mother Myriam to the K-1 gold medal sixteen years earlier in the 1996 Summer Olympics. Her silver medal improved on her mother's bronze from Atlanta 1996 and her father's fourth place in Barcelona 1992, and earned her the nickname "the Silver Fox" from teammates and the press.

### 2013–2016: Ascendancy to the top

Fox won her first World Championship titles in the C1 event and the C1 team event at the 2013 World Championships in Prague.
At the 2014 World Championships at Deep Creek Lake, in the United States, Fox became the first athlete to win the C1 and K1 events at the same World Championships, besting Jana Dukátová, who became the first to do it at separate events winning a world championship title in K1 in 2006 and C1 in 2010.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Fox won her second Olympic medal, with a bronze in the K-1 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After winning multiple World Cup races, she won the overall World Cup title in the Kayak Single Slalom (K1) and was second overall in Canoe Single Slalom (C1). She also won the U23 World Championships in K1 and C1 in Kraków, Poland. Additionally, she also won the Oceania Championships Slalom C1 in Penrith, Australia.

### 2017–2020: Record breaking dominance

In 2017, Fox won the K1 event at the 2017 World Championships. Fox won the C1 and finished second in the K1 for the 2017 World Cup, and was awarded the Canoeist of the Year award, and the NSW Athlete of the Year award.
In 2018, Fox was a double ICF Canoe World Champion in both the C1 and K1 at the 2018 World Championships, and again won a number of World Cups in both disciplines, finishing first in both the C1 and K1 2018 World Cup standings. Her 2018 season featured an undefeated run in C1, sweeping all five World Cups and the World Championships, including three consecutive 'Golden Doubles' at the first three World Cups. In 2019, Fox repeated her World Cup dominance, again finishing first in both the K1 and C1 World Cup standings. Fox won the Oceania Championships in Canoe Slalom again, and won silver in both K1 and C1 events at the 2019 World Championships .

### 2021–2023: Olympic heartbreak to glory

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox finished third to win the bronze medal in the Women's K-1. Fox's final run included a penalty time of 4 seconds, ultimately putting her final time 1.23 seconds behind the winner Ricarda Funk. During the event, Fox also gained media attention for using a condom to repair her kayak. Fox was also the fastest qualifier for the final of the inaugural Women's Canoe Slalom C-1 event at the Olympics, where she went on to win her first Olympic gold medal, beating silver medalist Mallory Franklin of Great Britain by more than three seconds with a penalty-free run.
At the 2021 World Championships in Bratislava, Fox did not progress to the final of either the K1 or C1 for the first time in her entire career, after incurring 50-second penalties in the semi-finals of both. On the final day of competition she became World Champion in the kayak cross, an 8th individual world title in a 3rd unique event, in just her third international appearance in the event.

### 2024: Paris Olympics

Fox was selected as the opening ceremony flag bearer to represent Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In her fourth Olympic Games, Fox was able to claim her first Olympic gold medal for the K-1 event, having previously won silver and bronze medals in her last three Olympics. Fox also managed to defend her C-1 title. In doing so, Fox became the first paddler, male or female, to win and hold both K-1 and C-1 Olympic titles, and also became the most decorated athlete in canoe slalom at the Olympics. In the inaugural kayak cross event at the Olympics, Fox was eliminated in the heats in a race that featured her sister, Noemie Fox, who went on to win the gold medal.

## Awards and honours

Fox was the 2010 Penrith Press Junior Sports Star of the year and NewsLocal Medal winner.
She has also served as the ambassador for the Premier's Sporting Challenge.
In 2010, she was also named the Cumberland Courier Junior Sport Star, NSWIS Junior Athlete of the Year and the Pierre de Coubertin AOC award.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011, she was named the Junior Canoeist of the Year Australian Canoeing.
In 2011, she was named the Australian Canoeing Athlete of the Year.
She earned the AIS Secondary Education award in 2011.
She was awarded AIS Sport Performance Awards – Athlete of the Year for 2014.
From 2014 to 2019 she was named Maccabi World Union Australia's Outstanding Jewish Sportswoman.
In 2018, she won AIS Sport Performance Award Female Athlete of the Year.
In 2021, Fox was appointed member of the IOC Athletes' Commission. In 2024, she was elected to that committee.
In the 2022 Australia Day Honours Fox was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

## Television

In 2017, Fox appeared as a celebrity contestant on the Australian version of Hell's Kitchen. She came 7th overall.
In August 2024, Fox filled in for Alex Cullen on the Nine Network's Today as a sport presenter.

## Career statistics
### Major championships results timeline

| Event | Event | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Olympic Games | C1 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | 1 | Not held | Not held | 1 |
| Olympic Games | K1 | Not held | Not held | Not held | 2 | Not held | Not held | Not held | 3 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | 3 | Not held | Not held | 1 |
| Olympic Games | Kayak cross | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | 26 |
| World Championships | C1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | Not held | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not held | 6 | 1 | 2 | Not held | 26 | 2 | 3 | Not held |
| World Championships | K1 | — | 5 | 19 | Not held | 18 | 1 | 4 | Not held | 1 | 1 | 2 | Not held | 25 | 2 | 1 | Not held |
| World Championships | Kayak cross | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | — | — | Not held | 1 | 1 | 37 | Not held |
| World Championships | C1 team | Not held | Not held | 1 | Not held | 1 | DNS | 1 | Not held | 2 | 6 | 1 | Not held | — | 5 | 11 | Not held |
| World Championships | K1 team | — | 11 | 11 | Not held | 4 | 11 | 7 | Not held | 3 | 7 | 16 | Not held | — | 13 | 1 | Not held |
* ↑ Exhibition event
* 1 2 Not a medal event due to low number of participating nations

### World Cup individual podiums

| | | | | Total |
| C1 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 45 |
| K1 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 31 |
| Kayak cross | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Total | 52 | 20 | 9 | 81 |
| Season | Date | Venue | Position | Event |
| 2010 | 21 February 2010 | Penrith | 1st | C1 |
| 2010 | 27 June 2010 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2011 | 2 July 2011 | L'Argentière-la-Bessée | 1st | C1 |
| 2011 | 9 July 2011 | Markkleeberg | 1st | C1 |
| 2012 | 9 June 2012 | Cardiff | 2nd | C1 |
| 2013 | 22 June 2013 | Cardiff | 2nd | C1 |
| 2013 | 29 June 2013 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
| 2013 | 6 July 2013 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2013 | 17 August 2013 | Tacen | 1st | C1 |
| 2013 | 18 August 2013 | Tacen | 1st | K1 |
| 2013 | 24 August 2013 | Bratislava | 1st | C1 |
| 2014 | 8 June 2014 | Lee Valley | 3rd | K1 |
| 2014 | 14 June 2014 | Tacen | 1st | C1 |
| 2014 | 2 August 2014 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2015 | 20 June 2015 | Prague | 2nd | C1 |
| 2015 | 21 June 2015 | Prague | 2nd | K1 |
| 2015 | 27 June 2015 | Kraków | 1st | C1 |
| 2015 | 8 August 2015 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2015 | 15 August 2015 | Pau | 2nd | C1 |
| 2015 | 16 August 2015 | Pau | 2nd | K1 |
| 2016 | 4 June 2016 | Ivrea | 1st | C1 |
| 2016 | 5 June 2016 | Ivrea | 2nd | K1 |
| 2016 | 12 June 2016 | La Seu d'Urgell | 2nd | K1 |
| 2016 | 18 June 2016 | Pau | 2nd | C1 |
| 2016 | 3 September 2016 | Prague | 1st | C1 |
| 2016 | 10 September 2016 | Tacen | 2nd | C1 |
| 2016 | 11 September 2016 | Tacen | 1st | K1 |
| 2017 | 24 June 2017 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
| 2017 | 1 July 2017 | Markkleeberg | 1st | C1 |
| 2017 | 2 July 2017 | Markkleeberg | 2nd | K1 |
| 2017 | 2 September 2017 | Ivrea | 1st | C1 |
| 2017 | 3 September 2017 | Ivrea | 2nd | K1 |
| 2017 | 9 September 2017 | La Seu d'Urgell | 2nd | C1 |
| 2017 | 10 September 2017 | La Seu d'Urgell | 2nd | K1 |
| 2018 | 23 June 2018 | Liptovský Mikuláš | 1st | K1 |
| 2018 | 24 June 2018 | Liptovský Mikuláš | 1st | C1 |
| 2018 | 30 June 2018 | Kraków | 1st | K1 |
| 2018 | 1 July 2018 | Kraków | 1st | C1 |
| 2018 | 7 July 2018 | Augsburg | 1st | K1 |
| 2018 | 8 July 2018 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
| 2018 | 31 August 2018 | Tacen | 1st | C1 |
| 2018 | 1 September 2018 | Tacen | 2nd | K1 |
| 2018 | 9 September 2018 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2019 | 15 June 2019 | Lee Valley | 3rd | K1 |
| 2019 | 16 June 2019 | Lee Valley | 3rd | C1 |
| 2019 | 30 June 2019 | Tacen | 1st | C1 |
| 2019 | 31 August 2019 | Markkleeberg | 2nd | K1 |
| 2019 | 1 September 2019 | Markkleeberg | 3rd | C1 |
| 2019 | 7 September 2019 | Prague | 1st | K1 |
| 2019 | 8 September 2019 | Prague | 1st | C1 |
| 2021 | 12 June 2021 | Prague | 3rd | K1 |
| 2021 | 13 June 2021 | Prague | 1st | C1 |
| 2021 | 19 June 2021 | Markkleeberg | 1st | K1 |
| 2021 | 4 September 2021 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | K1 |
| 2021 | 5 September 2021 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2021 | 11 September 2021 | Pau | 1st | K1 |
| 2021 | 12 September 2021 | Pau | 2nd | C1 |
| 2021 | 12 September 2021 | Pau | 3rd | Kayak cross |
| 2022 | 11 June 2022 | Prague | 1st | K1 |
| 2022 | 18 June 2022 | Kraków | 1st | K1 |
| 2022 | 25 June 2022 | Tacen | 1st | K1 |
| 2022 | 27 August 2022 | Pau | 1st | K1 |
| 2022 | 28 August 2022 | Pau | 3rd | C1 |
| 2022 | 28 August 2022 | Pau | 1st | Kayak cross |
| 2023 | 3 June 2023 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
| 2023 | 9 June 2023 | Prague | 1st | K1 |
| 2023 | 10 June 2023 | Prague | 1st | C1 |
| 2023 | 17 June 2023 | Tacen | 1st | K1 |
| 2023 | 18 June 2023 | Tacen | 3rd | Kayak cross |
| 2023 | 1 September 2023 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
| 2023 | 2 September 2023 | La Seu d'Urgell | 2nd | K1 |
| 2023 | 6 October 2023 | Vaires-sur-Marne | 1st | K1 |
| 2023 | 7 October 2023 | Vaires-sur-Marne | 1st | C1 |
| 2023 | 8 October 2023 | Vaires-sur-Marne | 3rd | Kayak cross |
| 2024 | 1 June 2024 | Augsburg | 1st | C1 |
| 2024 | 7 June 2024 | Prague | 2nd | K1 |
| 2024 | 8 June 2024 | Prague | 2nd | C1 |
| 2024 | 14 June 2024 | Kraków | 1st | K1 |
| 2024 | 15 June 2024 | Kraków | 1st | C1 |
| 2024 | 16 June 2024 | Kraków | 1st | Kayak cross |
| 2024 | 21 September 2024 | La Seu d'Urgell | 1st | C1 |
    $^1$ Oceania Canoe Slalom Open counting for World Cup points

### Complete World Cup results

| Year | Class | WC1 | WC2 | WC3 | WC4 | WC5 | Points | Position |
| 2008 | K1 | Continent 11 | Prague | Tacen | Augsburg | | 32 | 70th |
| 2010 | K1 | Continent 9 | Prague 31 | La Seu 14 | Augsburg | | 67 | 25th |
| 2010 | C1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | Augsburg | | 156 | 5th |
| 2011 | K1 | Tacen | L'Argentière 7 | Markkleeberg 17 | Prague | | 66 | 21st |
| 2011 | C1 | Tacen | 1 | 1 | Prague | | 120 | 6th |
| 2012 | K1 | Cardiff 7 | Pau 8 | La Seu 6 | Prague | Bratislava | 120 | 14th |
| 2012 | C1 | 2 | | | Prague | Bratislava | 55 | 19th |
| 2013 | K1 | Cardiff 5 | Augsburg 12 | La Seu 10 | Tacen 1 | Bratislava 9 | 205 | 2nd |
| 2013 | C1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 295 | 1st |
| 2014 | K1 | Lee Valley 3 | Tacen 9 | Prague 5 | La Seu 9 | Augsburg | 166 | 9th |
| 2014 | C1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | Augsburg | 198 | 4th |
| 2015 | K1 | Prague 2 | Kraków 29 | Liptovský Mikuláš 9 | La Seu 5 | Pau 2 | 252 | 3rd |
| 2015 | C1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 318 | 1st |
| 2016 | K1 | Ivrea 2 | La Seu 2 | Pau 10 | Prague 17 | Tacen 1 | 290 | 2nd |
| 2016 | C1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 2 | 285 | 3rd |
| 2017 | K1 | Prague 10 | Augsburg 11 | Markkleeberg 2 | Ivrea 2 | La Seu 2 | 286 | 2nd |
| 2017 | C1 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 307 | 1st |
| 2018 | K1 | Liptovský Mikuláš 1 | Kraków 1 | Augsburg 1 | Tacen 2 | La Seu 10 | 303 | 1st |
| 2018 | C1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 360 | 1st |
| 2019 | K1 | Lee Valley 3 | Bratislava 6 | Tacen 27 | Markkleeberg 2 | Prague 1 | 278 | 1st |
| 2019 | C1 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 312 | 1st |
| 2021 | K1 | Prague 3 | Markkleeberg 1 | La Seu 1 | Pau 1 | | 290 | 1st |
| 2021 | C1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | | 276 | 2nd |
| 2021 | Kayak cross | | | 8 | 3 | | 125 | 4th |
| 2022 | K1 | Prague 1 | Kraków 1 | Tacen 1 | Pau 1 | La Seu 11 | 304 | 1st |
| 2022 | C1 | 24 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 210 | 6th |
| 2022 | Kayak cross | 10 | 14 | DNS | 1 | DNS | 86 | 12th |
| 2023 | K1 | Augsburg 26 | Prague 1 | Tacen 1 | La Seu 2 | Paris 1 | 308 | 1st |
| 2023 | C1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 334 | 1st |
| 2023 | Kayak cross | DNS | 5 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 194 | 3rd |