Our very own local girl Jessica Fox OAM has been announced alongside hockey player Eddie Ockenden as Australia’s flag bearers in Paris!! Photo: Australian Olympic Team Facebook page
PADDLER Jessica Fox OAM and hockey veteran Eddie Ockenden are leading the Australian Olympic Team as Flag Bearers in Friday’s Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on the River Seine.
The pair was announced by Chef de Mission Anna Meares at a special ceremony at the Paris Mint on Wednesday night (Australian time), the same venue that produced the Paris 2024 medals.
Jess will become the second paddler to carry the flag following the late Dennis Green, who carried the flag at Munich 1972.
Jess and Eddie will add to the list of 25 Australians who have previously carried the flag, beginning with George Parker in Antwerp in 1920.
The pair will carve out their own special history, performing the task on a boat with the parade taking place on the River Seine.
Born in Marseille and moving to Australia aged four, Jess is the first Australian canoe slalom athlete to compete at four Games.
She said it is a huge honour and a privilege to be named. “I am proud to follow in the steps of so many great Australians who have carried the flag. The Olympic Games bring us together as sports, as athletes, and as a nation. And of course I am immensely proud to represent Australia in the country of my birth.
“I’m so proud to be part of this (Australian) team. It is one of the greatest moments of my career to be named Flag Bearer and to have the opportunity to present us to Paris and the world by leading us out in the opening ceremony.
“This is my fourth Games, and I am lucky to be competing in three events. My first race is the heats, after the opening ceremony, so I’ll get a sleep in. I feel this is such an honour and opportunity, that I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
“I am used to a busy schedule with racing and have worked with our team to make sure I’m as best prepared as I can be for this, and have a plan in place to ensure I can be ready the next day and Anna and the AOC have been amazing as well to support that.
“It’s so exciting and of course the fact that we will be on water makes it even more attractive to me. I think using the iconic River Seine in the heart of Paris will make this a spectacular and memorable opening ceremony. It’s original and it’s innovative, and I can’t wait!”
Australia’s Chef de Mission Anna Meares said the pair (Jess and Eddie) each possess all the attributes that the Australian team is looking for in a Flag Bearer.
“It was such a pleasure to ask Jess and Eddie to take on this role. They are both so deserving and provide great leadership within their sports and more broadly.
“Each has longevity, character, humility and great support in the Australian community.
“These decisions are never easy, but I felt extremely comfortable asking Jess and Eddie and even more so when they explained what the honour meant to them, when they eventually found the words.
“Jess is a natural leader. She currently holds roles on both the IOC and the AOC Athletes’ Commissions and sits on the IOC Coordination Commission for the Summer Youth Games in Dakar 2026. She transcends sport and her incredible gold medal run in Tokyo connected with the nation, and still evokes so much emotion for many Australians.
“She (Jess) is a giant in her sport – an Olympic champion and a world champion. Only last week she received the rare honour of being asked to carry the Olympic Torch as part of the torch relay here in France. On top of all that, she remains humble and compassionate.”
As dual Flag Bearers, Jess and Eddie become the third pair, behind Denise Boyd and Max Metzker (Moscow 1980 – carrying the Olympic Flag and not the Australian flag), and Cate Campbell and Patrick Mills (Tokyo 2020), who became the first dual Flag Bearers to carry the Australian Flag.
