Jessica Fox (canoeist)
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Jessica Esther "Jess" Fox (born 11 June 1994) is a French-born Australian world and Olympic champion slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2008. She qualified for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
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, where she made her Olympic debut at 18 years of age, winning a silver medal in the K1 event. She won a bronze medal in the same event four years later in
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, and again at the
2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
. She won gold at the
2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
in the C1 event, becoming the first Olympic champion in that event. Fox has won 19 medals at the
ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships The ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships are an international event in canoeing organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every year in non- Summer Olympic years since 2002. From 1949 to 1999, they ...
with twelve golds (C1:
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,
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,
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,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
; K1: 2014,
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, 2018; C1 team: 2013, 2015,
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; Extreme K1:
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,
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), five silvers (C1: 2019, 2022, K1: 2019, 2022, C1 team: 2017) and two bronzes (C1:
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, K1 team: 2017). Her 8 gold medals in individual events make her the most successful paddler, male or female, in World Championship history. She also won a gold medal at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in the K1 event. Fox, an 8-time world champion and Olympic champion, is considered the greatest individual paddler of all time.


Personal life

Fox was born on 11 June 1994 in Marseille, France, later moving to
Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...
. Fox's parents are Richard Fox and
Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi (born 24 October 1961 in Marseille) is a French slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1979 to 1996. Career Competing in two Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the K1 event i ...
, who both competed as canoeists at the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
: her father for Great Britain at the 1992 Games, and her mother at the 1996 Games who won a bronze medal for France. Her father is Second Vice President of the
International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...
as well as
Australian Canoeing Paddle Australia is the Sport governing body, governing body for the sport of canoeing and kayaking in Australia. History The body was founded in Bexley, New South Wales, Bexley, New South Wales on 10 September 1949 as the Australian Canoe F ...
's current high-performance manager, and a five-time world champion. Fox is
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, as is her mother Myriam Jerusalmi; whereas her father is not Jewish. Her younger sister
Noemie Fox Noemie Fox (born 19 March 1997) is a French-born Australian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2013. She won three medals in the at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with two golds (C1 team: 2019, K1 team ...
is also a slalom canoeist, as was her aunt Rachel Crosbee. Fox attended
Blaxland High School Blaxland High School is a government-operated comprehensive secondary school located in Blaxland, a suburb in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1977, the school enrolled approximately 1,000 students in 2 ...
, and finished her HSC year by being first in New South Wales in the
PDHPE PDHPE (''Personal Development, Health and Physical Education'') is a subject in the New South Wales school curriculum. It is a compulsory subject in the K-10 curriculum, and available as an elective in years 11 and 12 and for the HSC in year 12. ...
in 2011 and had an ATAR score of 99.1. She studied in the Elite Athlete Program at
The University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
where she is working on a degree in media/communications. She is studying 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. In May 2012, she spoke at the Chullora Public School. She celebrated her 18th birthday on 11 June 2012 in Cardiff while competing at a World Cup event. Fox is also an avid dog lover, regularly posting "dog selfies" to her social media platforms. Fox has featured all types of breeds, ranging from Jack Russels to Labradoodles. Fox's most popular #dogselfie was with a Swiss Shepherd named Hendrix.


Career

Fox races in K1 and C1 events and is coached by her mother, Myriam. She started in the sport in 2005 by canoeing on the
Nepean River Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...
. She has a scholarship and is affiliated with the
Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
and the
New South Wales Institute of Sport The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training ...
. In club competitions, she represents the Penrith Valley Canoe Club. In September 2009, Fox made her Australian senior national team bid. She competed at the ICF World Ranking in Merano, Italy in 2009 where she finished 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 won placed 5th in the K1 event and won a bronze medal in the C1 event at the 2010 World Championships in
Tacen Tacen (; in older sources also ''Tacenj'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 114–115. german: Tazen) is a formerly independent settle ...
. At the
2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...
in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, she won the gold in the girls' K1 slalom event. At the 2010 Junior World Championships in
Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...
, Jessica won gold in K1, also winning 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 La Seu d'Urgell (; es, Seo de Urgel, formerly in ca, Urgell}) is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bi ...
. 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 Eildon is the largest committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, with a population of 34,892 at the census in 2001. It also contains the three Eildon Hills, tallest in the Scottish Borders. Places in Eildon References See also *Subdivi ...
, 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 Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
, 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 The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in the women's K1 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 K1 gold medal sixteen years earlier in the Atlanta
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. 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. She won her first World Championship titles in the C1 event and the C1 team event at the 2013 World Championships in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. At the 2014 World Championships at
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, USA, Fox became the first athlete to win the C1 and K1 events at the same World Championships, besting
Jana Dukátová Jana Dukátová (born 13 June 1983) is a Slovak retired slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2021. She won nine medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with three golds (C1: 2010; K1: 2006; K1 team: ...
, who became the first to do it at separate events winning a world championship title in K1 in 2006 and C1 in 2010. In 2016, Fox won her second Olympic medal, with a bronze in the K1 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. In 2017, Fox won the K1 event at the 2017 World Championships, a number of World Cup medals, 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 C1 and K1, and again won a number of World Cups in both disciplines. Her 2018 season featured an undefeated run in C1 (winning all five World Cups and the World Championships), and three consecutive 'Golden Doubles' at the first three World Cups. In 2019, she won the Oceania Championships in Canoe Slalom again, as well as the World Cup Overall in both events. She finished third to win the bronze medal in the women's canoe slalom K1 at the
2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
, where she also gained media attention for using a condom to repair her kayak. In Tokyo Jess was also the fastest qualifier for the final of the inaugural C1 canoe slalom event, and went on to win the 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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
in
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
, 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 extreme slalom event, an 8th individual world title in a 3rd unique event, in just her third international appearance in the event which will make its Olympic debut at
Paris 2024 ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...
. Fox has won the overall
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
title five times in the C1 class (
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,
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
) and four times in the K1 class (2018, 2019,
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,
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). She has finished the year as the World No. 1 in C1 10 times, including an uninterrupted streak from 2013 to 2021, and World No. 1 in K1 6 times. She is currently the highest ranked athlete in both events.


Results


World Cup individual podiums

:
1 Oceania Canoe Slalom Open counting for World Cup points


Complete World Cup results


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. In 2018, she won AIS Sport Performance Award Female Athlete of the Year. In the
2022 Australia Day Honours The 2022 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2022 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...
Fox was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
.


Television

In 2017, Fox appeared as a celebrity contestant on the Australian version of ''
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...
''. She came 7th overall.


See also

* List of select Jewish canoeists * List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Jessica 1994 births Australian female canoeists Australian people of English descent Australian people of French-Jewish descent French emigrants to Australia Jewish Australian sportspeople Jewish French sportspeople Living people Canoeists at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics French people of English descent Olympic canoeists of Australia Olympic medalists in canoeing Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia New South Wales Institute of Sport alumni Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Marseille Medalists at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) Youth Olympic gold medalists for Australia Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportswomen from New South Wales