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Jessica Fox reacts to her sister's gold medal victory

<p>The Fox sisters are now both Olympic gold medallists after Noemie Fox claimed her victory in the women's kayak cross. </p> <p>Noemie, who is the younger sister of three-time Olympic champion Jessica Fox, beat out silver medallist Angèle Hug from France, and the UK's Kimberley Woods in bronze. </p> <p>Following Noemie's win, Jess and their mother Myriam quickly jumped into the water to celebrate her victory at bottom of the slalom course.</p> <p>Jess then spoke candidly to Nine about her sister's win, hailing the "fairytale ending" to an almost unbelievably perfect Fox family Olympics.</p> <p>"I'm just full of emotion," Jess said, voice trembling, just moments after climbing out of the water at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.</p> <p>"And I'm so proud of her, and I'm just – I'm drenched, I jumped into the water. There's so much emotion in this moment. It's amazing.</p> <p>"I was just screaming. We were both screaming," Jess said. "She was like 'what is going on? What the hell' but she did it."</p> <p>"She is just so – I'm so happy for her, so happy for her."</p> <p>There were but three kayak gold medals up for grabs for women at Paris 2024 and the sisters are taking the whole set back with them to Sydney.</p> <p>As well as coaching her daughters to success, Myriam has an Olympic bronze medal to her name and dad Richard, who briefly bailed on his broadcast duties to celebrate with his two girls, won 10 world championships and finished fourth in the K1 at Barcelona 1992.</p> <p>"It means that poor dad is the only one without an Olympic medal," Jess joked.</p> <p>"What a moment for our family. What a moment for these games. You know, for the whole team, we've come away with three gold medals, and that's so special."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram/Morgan Treacy/INPHO/Shutterstock Editorial</em></p>

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Kayaker jumps into water to swim with killer whales

<p>A New Zealand photographer has captured the incredible (but dangerous) moment a kayaker jumps into the water to play with a wild killer whale.</p> <p>Drone footage shows 57-year-old Tim Stewart kayaking and snorkelling near the whale, before he decides to get into the water and swim beside a wile orca, off the coast of New Zealand.</p> <p>The video shows the man peacefully swimming next to the large whale, who seems playful and does a few somersaults in the water.</p> <p>New Zealand Herald reports that Stewart went kayaking in Army Bay after hearing of a whale pod sighting. He said that while it was clear the whale just wanted to play, he did have some concerns it would attempt to “drag” him down in the process.</p> <p>It is illegal to swim within 100m of killer whales in New Zealand and it carries a NZ$10,000 (A$9712) fine.</p> <p><em>Source: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErCfpYYuWuo" target="_blank">TopVIEW Photography </a></span></em></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2016/06/seal-pup-escapes-bondi-swell/">Tiny seal pup escapes Bondi waves following storm</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2016/08/elvis-the-seal-finally-released-back-to-the-wild/">Elvis the seal finally released back to the wild</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2016/07/seals-put-on-show-at-sydney-opera-house/">Seals put on show at Sydney Opera House</a></em></strong></span></p>

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Whales bellyflop for group of kayakers

<p>A group of kayakers in British Columbia were lucky enough to stumble across a humpback whale and her calf frolicking in the ocean this week.</p> <p>According to the astounding footage, the group was paddling to VonDonop Inlet when they happened upon the mother nursing her child. They were watching from a safe distance when the whales suddenly breached the surface and became alarmingly close to kayakers.</p> <p>Heather Lawrence, who filmed part of the clip, described the unreal experience to the <em>CBC.</em></p> <p>"The baby jumped, and that was like, 'Wow, that's amazing.' But then the mom came up right away and she's humongous compared to baby."</p> <p>Fortunately, the whales did not hit or injure any of the kayakers as they were showing off their impressive bellyflop skills.</p> <p>Watch the breathtaking footage from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKdXG72ZtobVX66Otq4-pAA" target="_blank"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Wildcoast Advetnures</strong></span></em></a> in the video above.</p> <p>Have you had a up-close and personal wildlife encounter to share with the community? Let us know in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/07/seals-put-on-show-at-sydney-opera-house/"><em>Seals put on show at Sydney Opera House</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/07/baby-elephant-ecstatic-upon-discovering-a-kiddie-pool/"><em>Baby elephant ecstatic upon discovering a kiddie pool</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/07/whale-puts-on-stunning-show-for-jet-skiers/"><em>Whale puts on stunning show for jet skiers in Queensland</em></a></strong></span></p> <p> </p>

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Kayaker narrowly avoids a 5-metre shark

<p>A shark warning has been issued in Albany, Western Australia, after footage emerged of a terrifying close encounter between a kayaker and a five metre shark.</p> <p>Ian Watkin was kayaking in King George Sound when he noticed the creature take keen interest in him, and made a mayday call to nearby whale-watching vessels.</p> <p>The shark was believed to be a white pointer, about four to five metres long.</p> <p>Even at the best of time kayaks can seem like flimsy water vessels, so you can imagine how the kayaker in this video must’ve felt when he spotted that dorsal fin in the water!</p> <p>Watkins told <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>ABC News</strong></span></a>, "This wave was coming behind me and I thought 'what the heck's that', and then I looked on and there's this massive fin, and I thought 'that's a serious shark'. It pushed me from the left hand side and then it nudged me from the middle across the left hand side.”</p> <p>"I was trying to stay upright and then it circled me for a while and I got on the radio and said 'emergency, emergency, emergency'."</p> <p>Paul Guest was in his charter vessel not too far away when he received an emergency call and made a bee-line for Watkins, “We've got a bit of a panicked call from somebody who said they were on a ski or sea kayak and said they had a white pointer swimming around them and they needed assistance, because it was bumping into them and giving them a bit of grief.”</p> <p>Guest added that while Watkins was a local an carrying all the right safety gear, he personally wouldn’t be kayaking around the area, “The guy said it was a great white and believed it was about the size of his ski; I know the skis are at least 5, 5.2 metres long, so if it was that big, it was a fair-sized shark. I told the guy maybe you should get a bigger boat.”</p> <p><em>Video credit: ABC News</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/07/perth-shark-sightings/"><strong>Perth residents urged to avoid beaches after shark sightings</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/06/15-bull-sharks-spotted-in-popular-queensland-swimming-spot/"><strong>15 bull sharks spotted in popular Queensland swimming spot</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2016/04/time-lapse-video-ningaloo-marine-park/"><strong>Time-lapse video captures beauty of Ningaloo Marine Park</strong></a></em></span></p>

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69-year-old aims to kayak from New York to Portugal

<p>Do you have anything special planned for your 70th birthday? A family outing or a big celebration? How about a solo kayaking adventure from New York to Portugal?</p> <p>That’s the reality for one Polish grandfather, 69-year-old Aleksander Doba, who just this weekend set off on his third trans-Atlantic crossing. Named Adventurer of the Year in 2014, Doba’s first crossing took him from Dakar to Acarau in Brazil at the age of 64, and it looks like he’s not done quite yet.</p> <p>Doba set off on his latest journey from Manhattan on the weekend, farewelled by a crowd of 100 well-wishers. The adrenaline junkie (who is also an accomplished rock-climber, parachutist and sailor) hopes to reach Portugal in time for his 70th birthday in September. His home for the next few months will be a 21-foot kayak, dubbed “Olo”, which Doba helped design himself.</p> <p>The grandfather has had his fair share of struggles, though, and expects this trip to be just as trying. “During the [Dakar to Acarau] expedition bandits attacked me twice and I was robbed of almost everything,” Doba writes on his website. “I know that this will be the toughest of the three. The water is cold. There are a lot more currents and storms predicted. This will be interesting.”</p> <p>Doba believes you’re only as old as you feel, and hopes his newest expedition will encourage others to follow their dreams, no matter their age. “I feel good. I don’t want to think about being old,” he tells <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/blogs/kit-bag/say-what-polish-grandfather-heads-from-new-york-to-portugal--in-a-kayak" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The National</span></strong></a>. “I feel young and I don’t want to pretend that I’m old.”</p> <p>Do you have any challenges you’d like to take on this year? Tell us about them in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/120-year-old-could-be-worlds-oldest-person/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>120-year-old great-grandmother claims to be world’s oldest person</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/82-year-old-abseils-melbourne-skyscraper-for-charity/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">82-year-old abseils Melbourne skyscraper for charity</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/dr-henry-heimlich-uses-heimlich-manoeuvre-for-the-first-time/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>96-year-old Dr Henry Heimlich uses Heimlich manoeuvre for the first time</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Man builds custom kayak to take dogs on adventures

<p>This is 67-year-old David Bahnson. He loves his dogs so much that he built a custom kayak so he could bring them along on all his adventures.</p><p>Bahnson told the&nbsp;Huffington Post: "I realised I could put our newer Golden Retriever in the rear baggage opening and I built a removable coaming to keep water from splashing into the opening.”</p><p>He added: "Our dogs have always loved to travel with us in cars, in my airplane, in boats. Building a way for them to kayak with us just seemed like a logical choice, and the boats are fun to build anyway.”</p><p>The resulting one-man, two-pooch kayak is utterly charming.</p><p>“It’s like a triple kayak, only there isn’t enough room for the paddlers to put their feet – but it’s perfect for a dog… They never hopped out into the water, actually,” Bahnson said.</p><p><img width="550" height="290" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-14.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-14" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314431"></p><p><img width="548" height="256" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-20.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-20" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314437"></p><p><img width="553" height="249" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-16.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-16" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314433"></p>

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Man builds custom kayak to take dogs on adventures

<p>This is 67-year-old David Bahnson. He loves his dogs so much that he built a custom kayak so he could bring them along on all his adventures.</p><p>Bahnson told the&nbsp;Huffington Post: "I realised I could put our newer Golden Retriever in the rear baggage opening and I built a removable coaming to keep water from splashing into the opening.”</p><p>He added: "Our dogs have always loved to travel with us in cars, in my airplane, in boats. Building a way for them to kayak with us just seemed like a logical choice, and the boats are fun to build anyway.”</p><p>The resulting one-man, two-pooch kayak is utterly charming.</p><p>“It’s like a triple kayak, only there isn’t enough room for the paddlers to put their feet – but it’s perfect for a dog… They never hopped out into the water, actually,” Bahnson said.</p><p><img width="550" height="290" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-14.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-14" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314431"></p><p><img width="548" height="256" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-20.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-20" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314437"></p><p><img width="553" height="249" src="http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-16.jpg" alt="custom-dog-kayak-david-bahnson-16" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-314433"></p><p><strong>Related links:&nbsp;</strong></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/09/dogs-can-spot-liars/">Dogs can spot liars and will disregard them</a></em></strong></span></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/09/how-to-run-with-your-dog/">Tips for running with your dog</a></em></strong></span></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/pets/2015/09/why-greyhound-make-good-pets/">8 excellent reasons to adopt a greyhound</a></em></strong></span></p>

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