History still beckons for Australia's champion paddler Jessica Fox, who says she's better-placed to win more Olympic gold in Paris than she was in Tokyo.
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Fox is gunning for an unprecedented golden treble in her sport, with the addition of kayak cross to the Olympic program alongside the K1 and C1.
Only one Australian - swimmer Shane Gould in 1972 - has won three individual gold medals at the same Games.
The 30-year-old ticked off the first of her quests on Sunday (local time), capturing an elusive Olympic title in the K1 event.
Fox had to rebound from an uncharacteristically slow run in the semi-final, which meant she qualified for the medal race eighth-fastest and was one of the first down the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium whitewater course.
But she produced a fast and flawless run, unable to be topped by the remainder of the 12-strong field.
A four-time K1 world champion, Fox had been hunting gold in the same event since London 2012 but only managed a silver and two bronze from her three previous Games.
"It will take some time to sink in but it's definitely something that we've been trying to achieve for a while," the Sydneysider said.
"I was just so happy to put down a clean run and get through those last three gates because that's where it came unstuck for me in Rio and in Tokyo.
"Once I got out of the last gate it was a sprint to the finish and I was just so proud of the run that I'd done, whatever the outcome.
"But to see gold today was amazing."
Winning multiple gold medals is obviously no easy feat but Fox said backing up for her second event would be easier than it was at the last Olympics.
She was the hot favourite for the K1 crown in Tokyo then but had to settle for bronze before climbing off the canvas to win her C1 title.
"I feel like this is the perfect start and I'm so pleased," Fox said after her K1 win.
"The energy is good and I'm in a positive space and I'm full of joy and gratitude, whereas in Tokyo it was really hard for me after the kayak to refocus for the canoe and dig myself out of my little sad hole."
Fox has also had to juggle being Australia's flag bearer for the Olympic opening ceremony but said that wasn't a burden and was actually a good lesson on how to refocus after her gold medal performance.
Her next event is the C1, with the heats on Tuesday (local time) before the final Wednesday (0125 Thursday AEST).
"Being the flag bearer was a lot of hype and excitement and I had to try to really switch off after that to try and focus on the race, which I think I did well," Fox said.
"This will be the same - such a high to achieve this - but it's not over for me in the program so I've got to try and come back to the process and recover and get back into training, physio and recovery.
"Also, emotionally and mentally it's about staying fresh too."
Fox won the kayak cross world title in 2022 and 2023 and in June in Poland showed the medal treble was realistic when she became the first paddler win the K1, C1 and kayak cross in the one World Cup.
Australian Associated Press
