Aussie golden girl Jess Fox and her sister Noemie have both secured top 10 spots in the kayak cross time trial in yet ANOTHER huge win for the Fox family at Paris 2024.
Jess, the older of the two sisters, blasted through the course with a time of 70.84, just half a second behind France’s Camille Prigent — who won the race. This means Jess will compete in round one of the head-to-head races on Saturday night.
Her younger sister, Noemie, also qualified for the head-to-head races on Saturday night after finishing eighth-quickest with a time of 73.09. Considering 37 athletes were competing in the wee hours of Saturday morning, this is not too shabby of a result for the Olympic debutant.
“It’s just been the best week ever,” Jess said after her race.
“And today was special even though there was no crowds. It’s the day Noemie became an Olympian and took to the start finally.
“She’s been waiting, she’s been on the sidelines… so proud of her.”
While Jess said she hopes she won’t have to face Noemie in the early races so they can both make the final, she stressed that the sisters won’t be taking it easy on each other.
“I know what (Noemie’s) answer is (to whether she’d take out the other). And it is ‘yes, I’m going to take her out,” Jess said.
“And so she should, you know, she’s a tough competitor.
“I just hope we don’t face each other in the first rounds. But towards the end, it gets competitive… we’re really good sparring partners, so we know what to do if we end up together.
“May the best one win.”
Round 1 of the Kayak Cross, featuring both Fox sisters kicks off at 11:30pm AEST tonight. Jess will compete in Race 2 and Noemie will compete in Race 8.
The first two competitors in each race will progress to the elimination rounds, while the losers of each race will have a last-chance shot in the repechage at 2:05am AEST on Sunday morning.
Jess’ race only features three kayakers, which means she will qualify so long as she does not lose. For Noemie, four competitors in the race means she will need to come at least second to guarantee a place.
Both Fox sisters finished with the fastest time trial scores of their respective races, so should be in with a good shot at progressing from here.
If they make it through the heats on Monday morning, the Fox sisters will compete in the quarterfinal on Monday night, before a semifinal and eventual final take place on Tuesday morning. TL;DR? Hopefully Australia will be VERY tired by Tuesday afternoon if the girls can make it through the whole way.
Their parents, who have both represented their countries internationally in kayaking, are in Paris with them. Their dad Richard has been commentating and their mum Myriam coaches both sisters.
It truly is a great time to be a member of the Fox family.
You can watch the kayak cross on Channel 9 and 9Now.
The post HUGE: Both Fox Sisters, Jess And Noemie, Qualified Top 10 In The Kayak Cross Time Trials appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
