Jessica Fox embraced 'cowgirl confidence' with ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships win

Jessica Fox wore her usual medal ceremony outfit: Australia’s bright yellow jacket, green warmup pants and a Red Bull cap.

But standing atop the first-place podium at Riversport OKC, the three-time Olympic canoe slalom champion added one distinctly local touch.

Fox is just one of over 300 international athletes competing in this week’s ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, giving paddlers a taste of Oklahoma City and its culture as they hope to return for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“If I won a medal, I would wear the boots on the podium because we’re in Oklahoma, right?” Jessica Fox said. “Gotta embrace the cowgirl style and that cowgirl confidence.”

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Less than a year after undergoing kidney surgery, the most decorated canoe slalom paddler in history added another gold medal Monday, winning the kayak cross individual time trial.

The Fox family is canoe slalom royalty. Jessica’s younger sister, Noemie, won Olympic gold in kayak cross at the 2024 Paris Games, and both of their parents were international medalists in the sport.

The Fox sisters have embraced Oklahoma City just as much as the city has embraced them. Australians living in Oklahoma have invited them out for coffee, helping make their stay feel more like home.

“We interacted with a lot of local people who were just so lovely, and you can really feel that hospitality and that Oklahoma standard,” Jessica Fox said.

Local fans filled the shaded viewing areas Monday morning, turning out to watch the 4-hour opening event despite the near 100-degree Oklahoma heat.

“I think it’s a really great venue to host a major event, and it’s really cool to see so many locals supporting that,” Noemie Fox said.

The Fox sisters have a bucket list of places they still want to visit around Oklahoma City. This trip, they crossed the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum off that list.

Noemie also wants to buy another pair of cowboy boots, this time with tassels, and go line dancing again. She hopes to do just that in two years, returning for the Olympic stage.

“I’m excited to come back, and I have a whole list of things that we didn’t really get to do this time round,” Noemie Fox said. “I think that’s the best way to leave a city with a lot of things left to do, and yeah I want to come back.”

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Amanda Avila is a sports intern for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Amanda? She can be reached at aavila@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @avilaonair. Support Amanda’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.