'Still here, still planning on it': Jess Fox's Los Angeles dream alive ahead of home world championships

Tuning in from Prague, Jess Fox is beaming.

It's 100 days until the 2025 slalom world championships in Penrith and the happy smile is there.

Reporters tune in with the three-time Olympic gold medallist as she prepares for the ICF World Cup 3.

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It's 10 months since her Paris 2024 glory. So many beautiful moments. So many highs.

"At times I feel like I'm still riding it," Fox admits.

The first of those highs was her role as flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The first gold in the K1 then followed.

She had to sit and watch her rivals race after a time of 96.08. No one could eclipse her as the cameras watched her hands go over her face while the hugs came from friends and family.

The title was defended in the C1 event, too, with more screams and hugs.

But perhaps the most awe-inspiring moment was when her sister, Noemi, won gold in the kayak cross. Jess ran to the water and jumped straight in, hugging her sister and screaming.

It was one surreal high.

The post-Olympics comedown

A similar high was felt by Australia's swimmers, with some recently divulging at the Australian world championship trials their struggles with the comedown post-Paris.

"I've had a rough couple of past months," Mollie O'Callaghan told Nine on June 11.

Kaylee McKeown also revealed she was "in a really dark place mentally" after the Olympics.

"I think when you go from such a high straight back to such a low, and you're kind of left scrambling for ideas on what you're going to do next, it is hard to find your feet once again," she said.

Ariarne Titmus has taken time off since Paris and watched Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh break her 400-metre freestyle record.

So that brings us to Fox.

The champion canoeist believes "it's pretty normal" for the swimmers to feel that way.

The build-up, the sacrifices, it all culminates into a short period where success forms your identity as an athlete. Then there's the end. Many athletes clearly have to ask themselves: what now?

Is it the same for Fox? The Australian hero, who we always see so upbeat and seemingly ready for the next challenge.

"That post-Games effect is different for everyone and I think for me, it was a high for a long time," she said.

"I rode that high for a while and I mean at times I feel like I'm still riding it, but there's definitely been moments of where you feel a bit deflated, where you feel a little bit of a lack of motivation ... But I think that's where I've always tried to have the perspective or at least the goal of something else looking forward.

"Post-Tokyo, I felt like I was able to shift my focus pretty quickly to a new goal, and post-Paris these world championships have been that dangling carrot that's gotten me back into it.

"I feel like I'm fortunate in that I didn't feel a really long low period. I felt like I struggled in training a little bit but generally in my life there's a lot to be grateful for and a lot that I'm loving about my life."

What drives Jess Fox?

Fox says she had a "yes to everything" attitude post-Olympics. Whether that be working for Nine or on her many endorsement deals.

That included the canoe slalom World Cup final in September last year where she went from 15,000 spectators watching on to a much smaller scale.

With the motivation levels considerably lower, there is an insight into the competitive edge that burns.

"I remember joking with someone afterwards and saying, 'I'm not that motivated, but I don't want anyone else to win', so it was like finding ways to sort of trick myself into trying to get myself into the right headspace to race," she said.

"And this year coming into the World Cups, I was nervous cause I was like, 'How's it going to feel?'.

"I don't know what my preparation is, I'm not in the same position as I was last year, but it was exciting to be back.

"It reminds me that I love competition and that I love being on that start line, having that feeling, especially in a final ... I still love it, still enjoy it, and it's been good to be back."

Will we see Jess Fox in Los Angeles?

As Fox prepares for World Cups and world championships, there's no doubt the suspense will start to grow towards Los Angeles in 2028.

The superstar Olympian sees no reason why she wouldn't be competing in LA, too.

"It's going to come around so quickly. I think post-world champs in 2026, we actually go and race on the LA venue, which is actually in Oklahoma.

"That'll be my first experience on that course, and I've never been there and I'm really excited to go there.

"And then 2027, you're in pre-Olympic qualifying years. So it kind of just rolls around and every year is important in the lead-up to LA, so I mean that's the goal ... I've always said the focus is on the world champs and then I can close out this Olympiad and then the focus moves on to LA. I'm still here, still planning on it."

A Penrith legacy

For now, though, Fox has her eyes on her home world championships.

After gold in Tokyo, her name was already synonymous with the area, but the success of the Fox family made them legends in their own right.

Now she'll be able to showcase her talents live to a strong cohort of local fans.

The 2025 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships will be held in Penrith from 29 Sept to 4 Oct. Every heat and final will will be exclusive live and free on Nine & 9Now.

Fox says she still gets stopped in the street by those who adored her and Noemie's dream Paris runs.

"People telling us, ‘Oh, we watched you, we cried with you, we loved your bond and we loved your event’, and I think that's so special to hear, and then it's even cooler when you hear someone say, 'My son or my daughter wanted to try paddling' or 'I even had a paddle on the river because I watched you guys and felt inspired'," she explained.

"Off the back of the world champs, I'm looking forward to definitely getting more kids in kayaks.

"... I just want to see kids in boats, and it doesn't have to be slalom, it can just be on the flat water in the Nepean River or at the beach, but I think it's such a special sport and a special way to see the world from a different perspective."