Fox, Ockenden to carry Australian flag at Games opening
Canoeing gold medallist Jessica Fox and hockey great Eddie Ockenden will be the Australian flag bearers at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Jessica Fox and Eddie Ockenden will carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony in Paris. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)
Among her many skills and gifts, Jessica Fox is great at keeping a secret.
Fox and Eddie Ockenden are Australia’s flag bearers for the Olympics opening ceremony, with team chef de mission Anna Meares revealing her choices to massive applause at a Wednesday function in Paris.
Meares also revealed she told Fox two months ago, so she could break the news in person.
“Even though I’ve known a little while, it’s really hit me today … all the emotions came up,” Fox said.
“It is probably the greatest moment of my career … just visualise us, leading our team down the Seine.”
Fox’s parents Richard and Myriam – also her coach – were in the room, having dodged camera crews outside before the function to maintain the secret.
The announcement was made at the Monnaie de Paris on the River Seine, two days before the Games start with an unprecedented parade of barges along the famous Parisian waterway.
While the announcement had been kept under wraps, it was no surprise, with Fox and Ockenden the obvious choices given their outstanding sporting careers.
Meares, herself the flag bearer at the 2016 Olympics, said the decision was still hard, but a great one to make.
“I couldn’t find better examples to lead this team,” she said.
French-born Fox, 30, is chasing three gold medals in canoe and kayak slalom events at her fourth Games and is one of the biggest names competing at the Paris Olympics.
“That French connection is very strong and it’s such a wonderful, special moment to be able to bring my two cultures together,” she said.
Ockenden, one of hockey’s all-time greats, is the first Tasmanian to have the honour.
“This really means a lot to me … if I get emotional, it’s because of gratitude, so thank you,” Ockenden said.
“I feel special, to represent Tasmania. It’s something that I’ve always felt a real connection to and if I could even say to kids in Tassie – dream big and chase your dreams, sport or otherwise.
“It doesn’t feel real yet … it’s a huge honour.
“I never thought this is something that could be a possibility.”
Meares rang Ockenden on July 1 to say that she wanted him to carry the flag – the same day the Australian Olympic hockey teams were announced.
The modest striker was struck dumb by the proposal.
“He went quiet when I offered it to him … I was like, ‘Ed?’,” Meares said with a broad grin.
Fox will defend her Olympic title in the C1 and is among the favourites in the K1 and the canoe slalom, a new event at the Games.
Fox’s younger sister Noemie is making her Olympic debut in the canoe slalom.
Ockenden, 37, is competing at his fifth Olympics with the Kookaburras and is a three-time Games medallist.
He has already amassed more than 400 Tests and could finish his career as the most-capped Australian in any sport.
Olympic gold has eluded him, with silver in a shootout loss in Tokyo not deterring the 37-year-old from pushing on to Paris.
By: Roger Vaughan and Murray Wenzel/AAP
