Noemie Fox: Olympic success changes your brain’s chemistry

“. . . the realisation that you achieved what you never thought you’d be capable of achieving; I think it kind of changes your brain chemistry in a way.” – Noemie Fox, Olympic champion

Noemie Fox OAM, who created history at last year’s Paris Olympic Games as the inaugural recipient of the women’s Kayak Cross gold medal revealed her triumph may have altered her ‘brain’s chemistry.’

Fox made her revelations in the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS)-produced Whitewater Warriors, a docuseries on the Institute’s scholarship holders selected for the 2025 ICF Slalom World Championships which will be contested at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium from 29 September to 4 October.

Fox’s victory in an event described as a ‘full contact race’ spoke volumes for the 28-year-old’s courage and resilience. While Kayak Cross competitors endure a long 15-foot drop from a platform to start the event (which also includes a compulsory 360-degree Eskimo roll), she needed to fight tooth ‘n nail to represent Australia in Paris.

To qualify for the Games, Fox needed a podium finish at the Prague Canoe Slalom World Cup. In a display of incredible grit, she won six races in Prague, survived the knockouts and then staged a brilliant come from behind performance to seal the silver medal in the final – opening the door for her to seize centre stage at Paris.

Fox spoke candidly in Whitewater Warriors of the impact the gold medal has had on her sense of self-belief and purpose.

“Winning an Olympic gold medal definitely changes your life,” she said. “And I think the biggest way it changes your life is just . . . internally . . . the realisation that you achieved what you never thought you’d be capable of achieving.

“I think it kind of changes your brain chemistry in a way.

“You know, experiencing such a high . . . you have one day in a four-year cycle, and you did everything right in the lead up, in the rounds before then to deliver your best on that day. When it all unfolds perfectly, then it’s just the most incredible feeling that’s really hard to describe.”

As she prepares to compete in front of a home crowd at next month’s world championships, Fox said her Olympic success remained a driving force.

“I still remind myself every day that that was me,” she said. “That was my hard work. And, yeah, that I’m an Olympic champion.”

Fox, who cheered as her sister Jessica won the other two gold medals that were available for female competitors at the Paris Games, also spoke of the impact resilience has played on her career.

“Resilience is something that’s definitely underpinned my career,” she said.

“I’d say more so, you know, emotional resilience . . .  learning to really keep a positive mindset to keep that self-belief high, even when faced with a lot of setbacks [and] when faced with a lot of uncertainty . . . just, you know, focussing on what I could. 

“Resilience is learning not to confuse a single defeat with a final defeat and learning not just to get back up or back in the boat but really learning from those setbacks to go even further next time.

“The toughest question [I’ve asked myself] would be, ‘why am I still doing this?’ ‘Is it all worth it?’ And ‘will I ever get there?’ There, the final destination being the Olympic Games. And I think, you know, the answer was always, ‘I didn’t come this far just to come this far and just to finish right here.’

“That’s something I just kept reminding myself – and now, I don’t think I have those tough questions anymore. I think once you’ve proved what you’re capable of achieving, mainly to yourself, there’s sort of that liberating feeling of wanting to achieve it again – but also know that you are capable of achieving great things.

“But it was a burdening question for a long period of time, yeah.”

Fox said it excited her to be competing at a ‘home’ world championships 20-years after she sat on the hill cheering on one of her childhood heroes to a gold medal the last time Sydney hosted them.

“I remember it being the biggest show,” she said. “We [were] normally always traveling, and I was lucky to travel with my parents from a young age to watch different competitions.

“Then suddenly everyone was in my own backyard, and I was sitting up on the hill and watching everyone . . .  and the biggest names in canoe sport were there.

“It was incredible watching someone that I knew . . . that I was such a fan of . . . Robin Bell. He won the world championships and that was a massive moment for us.

“So, it’s amazing to think 20-years later that I’ll be the one on the start line putting on that show. And there might be other little kids – like me – on the hill that are watching and that will be competing later on.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS