Jess and Noemie Fox are Australia’s newest golden girls, but to their old school Blaxland High they’re more than that.
Former teacher Leanne Talbot said she had been crying all morning.
“I burst out in tears…I think I’ve been crying during breakfast… [when] throwing the ball for the dog… and now of course,” Talbot said.
The training ground where both sisters train in Penrith is already planning to hang a plaque in honour of Noemie, next to the existing one for Jess.
The high school in Sydney’s west is also planning to immortalise the two Olympians and former students.
“I think they also deserve a stadium named after them at the school…so we’ll sort that out,” Talbot said.
Year 7 student Mikayla Hall said she felt “proud” of the sisters.
“I’m so proud that they’ve managed to go that far.”
Principal Emma Le Marquand said the Penrith community had been backing the girls for years, and they “felt like proud mums”.
“We have been cheering on for Noemie for a very long time…now the rest of the world understands.”
Noemie’s best friend Jasmine Pervan was also watching the race from Australia.
“Noemie’s been one of my best friends for my whole life, so watching that just felt absolutely surreal,” she said.
The girls have Olympic canoeing in their blood.
Their mother Myriam Fox won Bronze for France in 1996, while their father Richard Fox competed for Great Britain in 1992.
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