Jess Fox OAM. Photos courtesy of Paddle Australia.
JESS Fox OAM has added another two gold medals to her burgeoning Canoe Slalom collection, winning the Women’s Kayak Short Final and the Women’s Kayak Cross Time Trial at World Cup 3 in Prague (Czechia).
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) introduced two new events for World Cup 3, which was held over 27-29th June.
Short slalom in both Kayak and Canoe disciplines was trialed for the first time at a International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup and Jess
made sure she would again be a part of history, winning the first women’s gold medal in that event in Prague.
After failing to make the WC1 Short Final, Jess responded in typically emphatic fashion with her victory in the women’s WK1 Short Final.
“It was really fun to race out there,” said the three-time Olympic champion who triumphed in 55.61. Prague is the best place to race and always enjoyable, but I was really happy to put down a good run.
“It’s not even about winning, it’s about doing a run that I am really proud of and feeling satisfied at the finish, because the last couple of races in kayak have felt quite frustrating.
“It’s back to zero tomorrow (longer events), so today is just a bonus.
“It’s nice to be able to sprint at the finish and have 60 seconds instead of 90 seconds.
“Tomorrow is the one that counts in the World Cup.”
Jess’ success was however the only medal the Australian team would win at the meet, although Lucien Delfour (MK1 Short Final) and Tristan Carter (MC1 Final) both paddled superbly to finish 4th in their respective Finals, just outside the medals.
In addition to the Kayak Cross Time Trial and WK1 Short, Jess reached the Final of the WK1, where she finished 8th. Noemie Fox OAM finished 10th in the WK1 Short, Kate Eckhardt 7th in the WC1 Short and 11th in the WK1, Tristan 4th and Kaylen Bassett 10th in MC1 and Lucien 4th in MK1 Short.
The next Canoe Slalom World Cup event will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia over 29th-31st August, followed by the World Cup Final in Augsburg, Germany over 4th-7th September.
Penrith will subsequently host the Canoe Slalom World Championships at the Whitewater Stadium over September 29th – October 4th, when more than 300 athletes from over 40 nations will take part in the 6-day event.
The ICF Slalom World Championships will also play a crucial role in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, further elevating the profile of the sport in Australia.
Jess Fox is delighted to be the face of the World Championships, saying she can’t wait to welcome the world down under.
“For me, it’s always a proud moment, to welcome our international athletes out here and with the World Championships, we want to put on a good show for the community, for the spectators, for the fans and everyone watching on TV.
“But also, we want it to be a really memorable event for the athletes, and for everyone to go ‘those Penrith World Champs were amazing’.
“When I think about the World Champs I’ve been to that have been memorable, a lot of it comes from the fans and from the community who jump on board.
“When the community really jumps on board and gets behind it, it makes it really special. And when the stands are filled, or the hill in Penrith is full, and the noise is loud – that for the athlete is incredible.
“We feel that at the Olympics, we felt that at the World Championships in Augsburg in 2023, and I hope we can do that in Penrith.
“So that’s what I encourage – everyone come to the World Championships! We want it to be full, and we want the athletes to feel that energy from the crowd,” Jess said.
