Canoeing-Noemie Fox steps out of sister’s shadow in kayak cross drama

PARIS :When the draw was made for Sunday’s kayak cross, there were gasps as Australia’s Fox sisters were grouped together in the same race, but few thought that younger sister Noemie and not 2022 world champion Jessica would go through. 
Having already won the canoe and kayak slalom golds and ranked first in the world in kayak slalom, Jess had her sights set on a third Paris Games success, but as often happens in this most unpredictable of sports, she was bumped out and ended up in last place to miss Monday’s deciding races. 
“I just didn’t pull out my best race. It was tough off the start. I got really tangled, and I was trying to chase. I turned fourth, and climbed up one spot, and almost pulled off the overtake at the last gate,” she said.
“That’s kayak cross, and you can have a plan, but nothing goes to plan. I’m gutted, but at the same time, when you see your little sister wins the heat, I was really proud of her.”
Noemie’s joy at qualifying was bittersweet. 
“It was really hard to be lined up straightaway with Jess … it was a tough heat, and they’re all really tough heats. It was going to be a battle – I mean, it’s the Olympic Games so it was going to be really difficult,” Noemie told reporters. 
Jess Fox had said that the two were going to work together to try to ensure that both would progress, but their best-laid plans did not survive first contact with their two competitors in the heat, Spain’s Maialen Chourraut and Dutch paddler Martina Wegman.
With the top two going through, it was Chourraut who took second, with Wegman and the older Fox sister’s Olympics ending in the late afternoon sunshine. 
“I think it was hard, but we knew it was always going to be hard. I think we just didn’t want to knock one of us out and that’s what happened,” Noemie said.
“The goal was to have two Australians through as far as possible, and it would have been great to meet later on and do that final together.”
Noemie is one of 32 competitors – 16 women and 16 men – who will take part in Monday’s quarter-finals, with the semis and final also taking place the same day, and older sister Jess said she still had one important task at these Games.
“It’s not over yet, whatever voice I have left will be spent cheering on my sister and the (Australian) boys.”