Jessica Fox in 'cruel' development with sister Noemie as Olympics fans left heartbroken

Jessica Fox's dream of completing a golden trifecta at the Paris Olympics has been ended in the cruellest of fashion after she was eliminated from the kayak cross event by her sister Noemie. After winning gold in the C1 and K1 in Paris, Jessica Fox had been hoping to make it three from three in the kayak cross - a new event introduced at this Olympics.

But her plans came unstuck on Sunday afternoon when she made a costly gate error and failed to make the top two to advance to the quarter-finals. In a cruel twist of fate, sister Noemie was one of the athletes who advanced instead.

"I just didn't pull out my best race," said the 30-year-old Jessica, who now owns six Olympic medals - including three gold - from her four Games. "It was tough off the start, I got really tangled, and I was trying to chase.

"I turned fourth, and climbed up one spot, and almost pulled off the overtake at the last gate. That's kayak cross, and you can have a plan, but nothing goes to plan. I'm gutted, but at the same time, when you see your little sister (Noemie) win the heat, I was really proud of her."

Fans saddened by 'cruel' twist for Jessica Fox and sister Noemie

The sisters were drawn in the same four-person heat with Spanish veteran Maialen Chourraut - a three-time Olympic medallist - and Dutch paddler Martina Wegman. The 27-year-old Noemie got off to a flying start, storming clear with her sister at the back of the field.

Jessica went past Wegman but missed a gate as she attempted to go ahead of Chourraut, and had to paddle back around, which ruled her out of the running. The elder Fox immediately embraced Noemie after the finish.

"When I crossed the finish line there was a frustration, but then I saw her and I saw she had the No.1 next to her name," Jessica said of Noemie. "I went straight in for the hug. She had a 'aw, Jess', but I was 'you did it, you're through, let's keep this going. I'm with you all the way'. That turned quickly to pride for my little sister. I had a little cry and a little hug with mum afterwards, my disappointment, but I can't stay with that for too long."

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Jessica also revealed how mum Myriam wanted her to share some of the spoils with her sister. "Mum today was 'as a Mum, obviously I wanted both of you to go through. But if there was only going to be one, I wanted it to be Noemie'," she said. "She was just so proud to see Noemie race well."

Jessica predicted that Noemie's tough campaign to qualify for her Olympic debut will help on Monday, which will start with quarter-finals and end with the medal race. "That race in Prague was the perfect preparation for the Olympics Games for her. I hope she can go all the way," she said. "I will be screaming on the bank."

Jessica Fox proud of achievements at Paris Olympics

Fox will now spend the rest of the Games cheering on her compatriots, before taking the team charter flight home. "There was definitely a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation," she said about her campaign in Paris. "Add in the flag bearer role - that's an absolute honour and privilege to be in that role and to lead our team - but with that also comes an extra layer.

"When I managed to win the kayak race, there was so much joy in that moment, to finally achieve that. When I did it for the canoe, it was just disbelief - intense emotion, sharing that with everyone. Today, when I did my post-race interview and I realised it was the end of my Olympic campaign, it hit me. There was an emotional release, there were tears, there was relief. (There is) a bit of disappointment from today, but overall just so much pride and satisfaction."

with AAP