It was a special night for the Fox family with Jessica’s mother and coach, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, voted Coach of The Year for the first time.

Lauren Jackson AO OLY, Australia’s greatest ever women’s basketball player, was also presented with 'The Waratah' award.

It was the fifth time Jessica was named Sport NSW’s Athlete of the Year having previously won the coveted title in 2013, 2017 and 2018 and was a joint winner with swimmer Cate Campbell in 2021.

Jessica became a K1 Slalom world champion for the fourth time when winning the event at the 2023 ICF World Championships – her 10th career individual gold medal in Canoe Slalom. She also teamed with sister Noemie and Kate Eckhardt to capture Australia’s first ever World Championship gold medal in the women’s kayak team event.

With one gold, one silver and two bronze medals from her three Olympic Games, 10 individual Canoe World Championship titles, another four team World Championship gold and 11 overall World Cup titles, Jessica is the world’s most decorated canoe slalom athlete of all time.

Guiding these successes was Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, a two-time Olympian and a Games bronze medallist for her native France. A highly successful coach for over 25 years, Myriam was also honoured by the International Olympic Committee last December when winning the IOC’s Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lauren, a four-time Olympian and Australia’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer at the 2012 London Olympic Games, enjoyed a stellar international playing career between 1997-2016 before making a triumphant international comeback in 2022 to help the Australian Opals capture the bronze medal when they defeated Canada in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Third Place Game.

She debuted for the Opals when she was just 16 and was Opals captain from 2008 to 2013. She won three consecutive Olympic silver medals between 2000 and 2008 and bronze in 2012. At World Championships, Lauren won three bronze medals and, in 2006, a gold medal, the same year she collected gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Her legendary status extended beyond Australia with incredible performances in the WNBA, Europe, and Asia.

Lauren played 12 seasons and 338 games in the WNBA, winning the league MVP in her third season when she led the competition for scoring. She is the only player to have their jersey retired by the Seattle Storm.

In her role as Head of Women at Basketball Australia, Lauren supports women and girls to play, coach, referee and administer the game, including through the She Hoops program which strives to empower women in Basketball through visible pathways, mentoring, connection, insights, participation and education.

The awards ceremony also saw John Forbes (Sailing), Heather Garriock (Football) and Mathew Helm (Diving) inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions.