EXCLUSIVE: Noémie Fox struggled for years 'growing up in Jessica Fox's shadow'. Now she's stepping into the light

EXCLUSIVE: Olympian Noémie Fox struggled growing up in older sister Jessica Fox's shadow. After the Paris 2024, she's stepping into the light.

"Jess is a superwoman and a powerhouse and and so inspiring and so incredible with her humility as well, and she's always been there to help me, so she knows it's been very hard and challenging growing up in her shadow," Noémie confesses to 9honey.

Though both Fox sisters brought gold medals home from Paris 2024, 27-year-old Noémie spent years feeling that she couldn't live up to Jess' Olympic achievements. Looking at Jess' canoe slalom career, it's easy to see why.

READ MORE: Four years before her Olympic victory, Noémie was ready to give up

Just 18 when she made her Olympic debut, Jess brought home a silver medal from London 2012 followed by bronze from Rio de Janeiro 2018.

At Tokyo 2020, she finally collected Olympic gold and today the most decorated canoe slalom paddler, male or female, in Olympic history.

Jess has always cast a long shadow in the canoe slalom world, especially on Noémie who was always standing so close.

"It's definitely always been very, very challenging growing up and being compared to the greatest of all time, having that expectation that you might achieve the same and then when you don't it's that hard realisation of 'I'm not that good,'" Noémie says.

"I would [compare myself] like, 'At my age, Jess had already been to three Olympics and won X amount of medals'."

Even when she put in great performances of her own, Noémie struggled with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt because her results didn't measure up against what Jess was achieving at the same age.

That constant comparison held her back from celebrating or even acknowledging a lot of great achievements early in her career.

READ MORE: The one thing Noémie Fox refuses to share with fans on social media

And the noise wasn't just in her head; it was coming from the sporting world, the media, even well-meaning members of her inner circle.

"I'd have people in my family that would be like, 'Oh, you still kayak as well?'" Noémie reveals.

"Because they they're used to [Jess going to] the Olympics and when you're not at that level, they don't see you as a full-time athlete or as someone that is a credible athlete."

It wasn't until Noémie took a break from canoe slalom in 2020 that she was able to gain a fresh perspective on her and Jess' places in the sport and realise her own potential.

When she returned to the water and set her sights on Paris 2024, Jess was the one of the first people to step up and help her make it happen.

"Jess really helped me in every way she could," Noémie says, beaming, "so when we qualified, when I qualified, it was the most incredible feeling to join her [in Paris]."

READ MORE: Why Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson wanted to 'get away from the sporting world' 

Not only did Noémie have her big sister by her side to help her navigate her first Olympics, Jess got the rare opportunity to relive that first-time Olympic experience through her little sister's eyes.

It was a life-changing time for both Fox girls, especially when they both won gold.

Footage of Jess throwing herself into the water to celebrate 27-year-old Noémie's incredible win in the women's slalom kayak cross event was watched by millions around the world when it happened.

Months later, Noémie still can't watch it without getting emotional.

"I don't ever want to lose sight of that performance and what I was capable of," she says.

As she stepped up to the podium that day, Noémie stepped out of Jess' shadow and into her own light as an Olympic champion.

Jess was right by her side the next day when they paraded their medals for 15,000 fans at the Champions Park and Noémie says their time at the Olympics has only deepened the bond between them, both as athletes and siblings.

Born just three years apart, raised and trained together by mum-slash-coach Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, Jess and Noémie's personal and sporting lives have always been "intertwined".

It's something Noémie is much more comfortable with and appreciative of now, as she and Jess both come down from the high of Paris 2024.

"I think what we're both kind of struggling with is ... being OK with taking time off and saying yes to different opportunities," she confesses.

Australia will host the 2025 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships next year and the Fox girls are determined to perform well on home soil.

View gallery

All the most emotional Olympic moments in pictures

Selections will be held in January and though some may wonder at the sisters taking time off from training so close to selection, they've more than earned a break from the physical and mental pressure of competition – at least for a little while.

Jess recently walked in the inaugural L'Oréal Paris Walk Your Worth Runway and attended the Melbourne Cup Carnival, while Noémie has been picking up more media gigs and collecting awards by her sister's side.

These are the opportunities the Fox girls want to make the most of before the thrill of Paris 2024 wears off and they throw themselves back into training, sights set on Wolrd Championship victories in 2025, then Los Angeles 2028.

"The transition post-Paris, it has been quite hard for both of us to not feel guilty about missing all this training or not having consistent training," Noémie says.

"But it's also something we both need and want to be OK with doing, so we're just navigating those waters at the moment."

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.