Australian canoe slalom champion Jess Fox will begin her quest for a treble of Olympic gold in France the day after the opening ceremony.
But the 30-year-old from Penrith says her competition commitments would not deter her from accepting the role of opening ceremony flag bearer if it was offered to her by Anna Meares, the chef de mission of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) for Paris 2024.
Fox is a short-priced favourite in the betting markets to receive the honour, ahead of athletes such as swimming hero Emma McKeon, diving star Melissa Wu and basketball legend Lauren Jackson, who is set to compete at her fifth Olympics.
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Meares will choose a female and a male to carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony, to be held on the River Seine provided security concerns don’t ruin the plans of Paris 2024 organisers.
“The flag bearer is such a huge role in our team and it would be an incredible honour if I was chosen to be flag bearer,” Fox told Australian reporters over Zoom from Paris.
“There are many, many athletes, when you think about our team, which is growing day by day, who could be on the short-list, so we’ll see who our chef de mission chooses. Just to even be mentioned in that same sentence is always an honour.
“I can’t wait for that opening ceremony. It’s going to be absolutely incredible on the Seine.
“I’m looking forward to seeing our whole team come together.”
The opening ceremony, which will see each national delegation float down the River Seine on boats, will start at 7.30pm Paris time and wrap up almost four hours later.
The heats of the kayak competition will play out between 3pm and 7.10pm the following day, taking place at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
“We’ve been chatting with our team and we all would still love to go [to the opening ceremony] … I am planning on going regardless of whether or not the flag bearer role comes my way,” Fox said.
“It’s for me such an important part of the Olympics to feel that energy, that excitement.
“I’ve done it in London, Rio, Tokyo even though I was competing in the days following.
“So it’s [about] managing the fatigue, obviously, but … I get so much energy from that moment and inspiration from that moment to kick-start the Games.”
Fox will almost certainly be joined by her younger sister Noemie in the canoe slalom competition, after Noemie unlocked a second quota place in the kayak cross at a World Cup event in Prague this month.
Noemie could become the fourth member of the Fox family to compete on the Olympic stage, after her mum Myriam (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996), her dad Richard (1992 Olympics) and Jess, who raced at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Jess won gold in the canoe single (C1) event at the Tokyo Games and is now vying for a three-peat in France, eyeing victory in the C1, kayak single (K1) and kayak cross.
“The vibe is a dream,” Jess said of the prospect of sharing the Olympic stage with Noemie.
“Projecting ourselves at the Games all together is a dream come true. Being able to do that with my sister, who has been a training partner, a competitor, my sister, best friend, but also, she’s been on the sidelines, she’s been watching the Games, she’s worked at the Games, she’s been a volunteer, she’s been a spectator. She’s done everything except be the athlete at the Games. So for her to qualify and [to] be able to share that together is going to be incredible.”
Jess said witnessing Noemie clinch a quota place in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, was “up there with winning the Olympics” and made for “one of the best days of my life”.
“I’ve never been so nervous,” Jess said.
“Normally I’m also competing so I can focus on myself and keep an eye out on her results, but this time I was just a supporter, I was just there as her sister supporting her, and it was so hard.
“My heart rate when she was racing was 185 [beats per minute], which is nuts.
“I remember in the final when she came out of the last upstream gate I was just screaming — I lost my voice afterwards — and crying because she had done it … It was so much emotion and joy and love and happiness for her achieving that dream … At the finish line I jumped in the water and gave her a massive hug and all the tears and emotion came out.”