Dominant duo Jessica Fox and mother Myriam Fox were named Female Athlete and Coach of the Year, respectively at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Sport Performance Awards at the Star in Sydney. Attended by close to 400 guests, the black tie event is an annual celebration of Australian high performance sport.
Myriam, a former world champion paddler and Olympic bronze medallist with France, coaches Australia’s women’s canoe slalom program. Myriam is one of the few female coaches who work at international level, and has had a great effect in coaching her daughter Jessica towards extraordinary success.
Jessica, 24, created history by becoming the most decorated female slalom paddler of all time. The Olympic silver and bronze medallist wrapped up a dominant season by winning gold in both the K1 and C1 at the 2018 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. Jessica broke her mother’s record as most successful female Canoe Slalom athlete and has achieved eight individual World Cup medals and two World Champion titles in her career. The athlete’s next major sporting competition will be the 2019 Canoe Slalom World Championships, and eventually, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The full squad, including Jessica, finished the 2018 international season with a record haul of 10 gold medals, one silver and a bronze across under-23 and senior competitions. Under Myriam’s guidance, the squad achieved personal bests in their respective careers across the World Cup and World Championship series. Myriam’s youngest daughter Noemie Fox is also a Canoe Slalom athelete who has participated at international level.
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