Jessica Fox after winninbg the ICF Canoe slalom World Cup, women’s K1 final, on June 11, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo/Ondrej Deml (CTK via AP Images)

Olympic slalom canoe champion Jessica Fox is determined to make Paris a family affair with an opportunity for her younger sister Noemie to compete at the Games for the first time.

While 26-year-old Noemie is an elite paddler, Olympic quotas have previously only allowed for one paddler per nation, which has gone to Jessica.

However the addition of the kayak cross to the Paris program next year has opened up a potential second spot for an Australian athlete.

The Fox sisters are coached by their French mother Myriam, who won Olympic bronze in 1996, while their English father Richard is a 10-time world champion slalom canoeist and former Australian Olympic coach.

Jessica said the Fox family would be going all out to help Noemie win one of three extra Olympic starts up for grabs at the kayak cross world championships next June in Prague.

The 29-year-old said she planned to spend plenty of time in the water “sparring” with Noemie, with the race involving 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.

Noemie Fox of Australia in action during the women’s C1 of the Canoe Slalom World Cup in Krakow, southern Poland, 19 June 2022. EPA/Lukasz Gagulski

“Kayak cross is so tactical and strategic and you can learn a lot by like sparring, being together and trying out different tactical moves and that’s going to make her, and me, better,” Fox told AAP.

“Obviously, I’m supporting as much as I can and helping her in any way that I can because it’d be wonderful to both be there in Paris.”

Joint winner of the Australian paddler of the year alongside Paralympian Curtis McGrath last week, Fox is starting preparations for Paris by easing back into training.

She made her Olympic debut as an 18-year-old more than 10 years ago in London winning silver and has since added a gold medal in the C1 in Tokyo and also two bronze medals.

In 2023 Fox regained her K1 world title in London, as well as being crowned overall world cup winner in both the K1 and C1.

Fox, Noemie and Kate Eckhardt also became the first Australian paddlers to win the K1 team world championship.

Despite countless hours paddling on the water for “work”, Fox used her holiday time to travel to Venice, along with Noemie and Myriam to celebrate 88-year-old grandmother Mamie’s birthday.

“We did a little girls trip to to Venice and it was amazing,” Fox said.

“She turns 88 and she hadn’t been there since the ’60s so she rediscovered Venice, although it’s definitely not the most accessible place for an elderly person.”

By: Melissa Woods/AAP