Noemie Fox has stepped out of the shadow of her triple Olympic champion sister Jessica to win a gold medal of her own in the kayak cross to complete a clean sweep of women’s canoe events for their family.
The 27-year-old has collected Australia’s 13th gold medal of the Paris Games with an unstoppable display in the new Olympic whitewater event.
Fox won every round before taking out the four-paddler final on Monday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
Fox crossed the line ahead of France’s Angele Hug with Great Britain’s reigning world champion Kimberley Woods winning bronze.
Woods held the lead but struggled to get around an upstream gate late in the course, allowing Fox to power to victory.
Jessica won the C1 and K1 Olympics titles – to bring her medal tally to six from four Games – before being eliminated early in the kayak cross.
Their mother Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi is also an Olympic medallist, winning a K1 bronze for France at the 1996 Olympics.
“It’s crazy that it’s mine,” Noemie said of the gold medal.
“You don’t really dare to dream this big, but I really did this time and I dared to dream to get to the Olympics and then to get to that final.
“When I saw in the last up (gate) that I was first, it was pure joy – there’s no words to describe that feeling.”
Fox was joined in the water by 30-year-old Jessica, who jumped in to celebrate after cheering her sibling all the way down the course.
While Noemie has long been a world-class paddler, she’s never been able to compete in an Olympics before with her superstar sister taking the only Australian selection spot available.
The younger sibling said there were many times she considered giving the sport away, such was her sister’s dominance.
But the addition of the splash and dash event in Paris opened up another spot for Noemie to qualify alongside Jessica, who helped her prepare for the selection regatta.
“I’m her biggest cheerleader, just like she’s mine,” Noemie said.
“To watch her win two golds and then to have her as my biggest cheerleader, it’s a fairytale ending.
“She’s the greatest of all time in our sport … watching her win, it’s just such a privilege and inspiration and it really fuelled me.
“When someone like that really believes in you and tells you ‘you’ve got it’, you’ve got to go and get it.
“I got my moment and it’s my medal and we’re walking away with three gold medals in our family, which is insane.”
Jessica said she was proud to see her sister achieve her dream.
“I was so nervous, I just wanted her to do a good race … she nailed it,” she said.
“I’m just in awe of her … she’s an Olympic champion and she has worked so hard for that, I’m so happy for her.”
If the Fox family were a nation, they would sit in 16th spot on the overall medal table at the Paris Games.
