Australia’s Jess Fox has made Olympic history, winning her second gold of the Games after powering to victory in the women’s canoe single final.
The 30-year-old from Sydney is the first-ever athlete to win gold medals in both canoe and kayak at the Olympics.
“The mental state that I was in – the calm I felt, despite the expectation, despite the pressure,” Fox said
“To be able to stay composed is the coolest feeling as an athlete, when you’ve worked so hard at training. To be able to pull it off when it matters – that’s what we all work towards, for that one day every four years.”
This composure comes from a “killer look”, as Fox describes it, explaining her tactic of “staring down the course” before her unprecedented canoe slalom performance.
“That’s how I have to get into my zone. I was just staring down the course. Focusing on my breath. Not really thinking about anything. I just felt calm, and I felt confident, and knew that I just had to go out and do what I know how to do.”
Defending her Tokyo Olympic canoe single final victory, Fox scored 101.06 at the Vaires-sur-Marne whitewater venue.
Before this, she won the kayak single final on Sunday– her first gold of the Paris Games.
Born in Marseille, southern France, Fox is the daughter of two Olympic paddlers. Her mother won bronze in 1996 in Atlanta, and her father is an Olympian as well.
“It’s the most remarkable thing that she’s ever done,” said Fox’s father, Richard, on her historic achievement.
“Outstanding performance, so proud… I’m just blown away.”
Fox’s mother and co-coach, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi said her daughter’s achievement “won’t be beaten by anybody any time soon”.
“The women are the ones that do the double-category, you won’t see a lot of guys with double category,” said Myriam.
“Extremely proud of what she delivered today because that was the mental effort more than anything else.”
Fox now has six Olympic medals– more than any Australian in history– including three gold. She will be competing for another medal as she prepares to race in the new kayak-cross event, a head-to-head race reminiscent of BMX or skicross, taking place from August 2 to 5.