How Taylor Swift convinced Olympics star Jess Fox to risk a chance at a gold medal by becoming Australia’s flagbearer in Paris – as her…see more

How Taylor Swift convinced Olympics star Jess Fox to risk a chance at a gold medal by becoming Australia’s flagbearer in Paris – as her crazy past meeting is revealed

Taylor Swift is so big, she’s even been an unlikely part of Jessica Fox’s Paris Olympics preparations.

Fox used a Swift concert in a simulation to see how the opening ceremony might impact on her performance at the Games.

The canoe and kayak slalom star will be alongside hockey great Eddie Ockenden as the Australian flagbearers in Friday’s opening ceremony on the River Seine.

When team chef de mission Anna Meares asked Fox two months ago, the 2016 flag bearer told her to think carefully about the role.

Fox, like Ockenden, starts competition only a few hours after the opening ceremony ends.

So Fox and mum Myriam, also her coach, concocted a test.

‘I couldn’t say no, but we discussed it a lot,’ Jessica said.

‘I went to a Taylor Swift concert and used it as a simulation – I got the bus in … I had the best night of my life, got home late, did my hydration testing, did my meditation, ran through it all and then had a simulation the next day.

Myriam, an Olympic canoe medallist, said Fox was ‘a bit average’ in the race simulation – but noted some things are bigger than competition.

‘I’m not sure if it’s going to work in her favour, but what we know is that she decided it’s such an honour, such a privilege, that she was not going to say ‘no’.

‘We looked at it, but in a minute she said ‘I’m going to do it’.’

To outsiders, picking Fox and Ockenden was a no-brainer for Meares – but she said it was not easy, given the strength of the Australian team.

‘They might feel a little bit overwhelmed, they might not be able to find the words right now or really appreciate right now the significance of it, but I know it’s not going to change who they are or how they operate,’ Meares said.

After the announcement, it was revealed that Fox and Meares met 20 years ago, when the then-10-year-old canoeist got a selfie and an autograph from the Games boss as she returned to Australia after winning gold and bronze at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

And for their part, Fox and Ockenden are pumped about what the Australian team will deliver in Paris.

‘We’re ready – we’re ready to create our own legacy,’ Fox said.