Nine months ago, Jessica Fox was recounting the scars from her cancer surgery. She stayed positive and counted the days to her return to the water again. When the occasion arrived in Slovenia, she joined an elite list of athletes like Sebastian Haller, Jon Lester, and Mario Lemieux, who beat cancer. The silver medal Fox won in Slovenia was no less than a gold medal as she shared her story.

Nine months after having surgery in August 2025 to remove a tumor on her kidney, Fox returned to competition again. She qualified fourth-fastest in the K1 heats. With an impressive 81.74 run in the final, she did enough for a podium. Fox finished a whisker off Slovenian gold-medal winner Alina Hocevar (81.61).

“This is probably the first time a silver medal has felt like a gold medal to me,” Fox told Olympics.com.au. “Just getting to the start line today was the biggest challenge.

“To put down two solid runs – they weren’t perfect, but they were good enough – and make the final made me really happy. Then to back it up with another good run in the final feels amazing.

“I lost a little bit of time in a couple of gates, but honestly, I can’t complain. It’s my first race back. It’s just wonderful to be back racing and to start this way.”

In an incredible Instagram post, the three-time Olympic gold medalist went into detail about how the past nine months unfolded for her, although things became complicated. Days after the successful removal, Fox’s lung collapsed, and she spent five days in the ICU recovering.

“It’s been a whirlwind over the last few weeks, but I’m all good – just a couple of gnarly new scars, a bit less kidney, and a whole lot more toughness,” Fox said, as per the Guardian in 2025. “I’m feeling positive and looking forward to heading home, focusing on recovery, and then building towards being back on the water again.”

Her recovery, however, took a lot longer than even she expected. Yet, within a month, the 31-year-old Australian was back in action and moving again. It did feel like she was doing everything from scratch, which was a massive blow considering Fox’s resume. The Australian was, after all, a six-time Olympic medalist, a run that began when she was just 18.

That was at the 2012 Olympics in London, where she won silver in the K1 event. That trend continued as she won bronze at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. Yet, Fox’s refusal to give up in the K1 meant that she eventually won gold at the 2024 Olympics. Her other two medals came in the C1 event, where she won gold at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

It makes her the sole champion in that event, as it debuted during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Yet the surgery meant that Jessica Fox wouldn’t be adding to her 22 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championship medals, despite the 2025 edition taking place in Australia. That alone was heartbreaking for her, although she continued her recovery journey, finally hitting the water six months ago.

It marked a turning point for Fox, and things have only trended upwards since then. That’s why her silver medal at the women’s K1 final at the Slalom World Cup Series in Slovenia meant the world to her. That’s because things took a turn before the race, with the 31-year-old struggling with a wrist injury.

Jon Lester started and went on to win the final game of the 2007 World Series, two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Sebastian Haller underwent two surgeries and four cycles of chemotherapy before making his return to the pitch, eight months later.

Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux missed two months of action after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Like Fox, he made a winning return to the ice, winning his second straight and fourth overall scoring title by the end of the 1992/93 season. Yet, Jessica Fox isn’t looking towards the past; instead, she’s laser-focused on her future.

Jessica Fox targeting 2026 World Championships and 2030 Olympics

Few expected Jessica Fox to announce that she had just undergone surgery for cancer. Yet in August 2025, that’s exactly what the Australian canoe icon did, revealing that a benign tumor had been removed from her kidney. While she did have post-surgery complications, the 31-year-old was cancer-free and was slowly making her way back to a comeback.

Fox’s journey since has been well documented on Instagram, and her return to the World Cup stage meant that she was pitted against 198 others. Not just that, but the Australian had picked one of Canoe Slalom’s most technically demanding courses to make her comeback. Even that didn’t faze Fox as she flew through to win her first medal in nearly a year.

Yet already, her focus has shifted, with Jessica Fox now looking towards the future. Her goal? A potential 23rd and beyond medal at the 2026 Canoe Slalom World Championships.

“You know, the goal this year is to get to the world championships and to get to the second half of the season where we start that Olympic qualification process,” Fox said on Instagram. “So yeah, I don’t know what my expectations are, but I just wanna get out there and try and do some good runs.”

Nine months ago, Jessica Fox was fighting to get through surgery and a collapsed lung; now she’s back on an international podium. Not just that, her target is the next world championships. So much so that while the silver medal marked her return, for Fox, it was proof that the goals she put on hold are back within reach.