Jessica Fox Travels from Sydney, NSW

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Born in Marseille, France, Jess moved to Australia with her family at the age of four. Jess’s mother, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, raced for France and won a K1 bronze medal in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Her father, Richard Fox, raced for Great Britain and was a five-time K1 World Champion. It was through her parents that Jess discovered her love and passion for kayaking.

Coached by her mum from the very beginning, Jess made her first national junior team in 2009 and went on to win four junior World Champion crowns, eight under-23 world titles and a Youth Olympics gold medal.

In 2011 Jess juggled her sporting commitments while finishing her Higher School Certificate. She placed first in the state for Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE), achieved band 6 in all her subjects and finished with an ATAR of 99.1. She was dux of Blaxland High School.

When she was 18, Jess competed at the London 2012 Olympics winning a silver medal in K1. In 2014 Jess returned to the Youth Olympic Games as a Young Ambassador for Australia, mentoring a team of 100 young athletes. She has since been involved as a contributor to the YOG and IOC movement at various forums and meetings in Switzerland.

In 2016, she represented Australia at the Rio Olympic Games winning a bronze in K1, her second Olympic medal. 2018 was a momentous one where she claimed two world titles, and also completed her Bachelor’s degree in Social Science Psychology.

Jess was awarded 2018 Sportswoman of the Year at the World Paddle Awards, and in 2019 season she won gold in the C1 category at the Australian Open, as well taking out the overall World Cup series crown for both C1 and K1 events.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Jess went into the K1 final as the hot favourite and fastest qualifier. However, despite having the quickest time in the final, two time penalties saw her relegated to the bronze medal. Her nine-year hunt for gold continued.

In 2021, Jess lined up in the final of the C1 Canoe Slalom and grabbed a historic C1 gold, in what has been described as one of Australia’s greatest-ever Olympic performances. In 2022, she became the overall K1 World Cup Champion and took home five World Cup golds, four in the K1 and one in the Kayak Cross. Followed in 2023 with a massive seven World Cup golds, where she became the overall World Cup Champion in the K1 and C1 events. This season also saw her claim her tenth world title winning the K1 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in London.

In the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Jess won gold in the Women's kayak single event and Women's canoe single event. She was also a Flag Bearer at the Opening Ceremony in Paris.