Canoe slalom star Fox back in action at World Cup
Olympic canoe slalom champion Jessica Fox expects next year’s Paris Games to be her toughest yet, bracing for some “argy-bargy” as she targets three gold medals.
Jessica Fox in action during the Women’s Canoe Slalom Semifinal at the Canoeing Slalom events of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo, Japan, 29 July 2021. EPA/WU HONG
As well as defending her C1 Olympic title and improving on her Tokyo bronze in the K1, Fox is set to compete in a new addition to the Games program, the kayak cross event.
In Augsburg, Germany, with the Australian team ahead of the first World Cup event this weekend, the 28-year-old has a stacked program that she hopes will help make her a triple threat in Paris.
The kayak cross involves four competitors entering the water down a ramp at the same time, manoeuvring through eight gates and completing an ‘eskimo roll’ in an allocated area.
Fox, who is the reigning world champion in the event, says it can get a little rough and tumble, while paddlers also have to try to orientate themselves after deliberately capsizing their kayak.
“There can be boat-to-boat contact, but you can’t be intentionally aggressive,” the four-time Olympic medallist told AAP.
“You can get disqualified if you hit someone in the face with a paddle for example but there’s a bit of argy-bargy.”
Fox said since the addition of the event to the Olympics, she’d been “building a tactical and strategy portfolio”.
“It’s really hard to train for, and the kayaks are a different shape and weight, so physically and tactically, you have to approach it differently,” she said.
There are eight Australian paddlers in Augsburg, which was the canoe slalom venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics and is a favourite for Fox.
“It’s one of the most unique courses because it’s swirly … there’s no real artificial bollards, it’s got a natural-course feel to it,” she said.
“We had the world championships there last year, and it gets packed with people and can have an incredible atmosphere.”
The Australians in action include dual Olympian Lucien Delfour and Fox’s younger sister Noemie.
The first Olympic quota spots go on the line at the world championships in September on the London 2012 course.
AAP
