Dreams do come true. Sometimes they might just take nine years.
That's how long Jessica Fox had waited to claim her first Olympic gold, which she did in Tokyo last Thursday, blitzing the field in the women's C1 canoe slalom.
It was a fitting win as Fox campaigned hard for the event to be included. Men had long had both canoe (single-bladed paddle) and kayak (double bladed) slalom Olympic races; women had had to be content with kayak. Until now.
Fox is a former Blaxland High School student who graduated in 2011, doing much of her final year online while competing overseas.
She burst on to the Olympic scene in London in 2012, winning silver in the K1 (kayak) slalom at the age of 18.
Four years later, she took bronze at Rio.
Earlier last week she competed in the K1, widely tipped to take gold. But she was penalised for brushing two of the gates and finished with the bronze medal.
If anything, that result may have given her even greater motivation. The steely look in her eyes as she waited at the starting gate on Thursday afternoon, the final competitor in the race, showed the intense determination that gripped her at that moment.
One hundred and five seconds later, after a clear run down the exacting course, Fox could finally add a gold medal to her haul. She beat Great Britain's Mallory Franklin, who had clocked 108.68, with Andrea Herzog from Germany third.
Her mother and coach, Myriam, and sister, Noemie, rushed to hug her. Father Richard was back in Australia in the Seven commentary box, calling his daughter's win while trying to remain professionally detached.
How he managed that feat is anyone's guess. Perhaps his own experience - both he and Myriam are former canoe slalom champions - kept him calm.
A delighted Fox later told Channel 7 she was "over the moon".
"I am so, so proud to have won that gold... It was super special... I was relieved, excited, overjoyed and proud.
"It was a bit heart-breaking to see that I could have won [the kayak race]... It left me hungry."
She also said she had been "overwhelmed with the support from back home".
Fox's joy was hard to see under her mask but several times she drew a smiley face with her hand to show how she was feeling.
She acknowledged the "so many women" who were part of the lobbying effort to get the C1 race on the Olympic program.
"I think we've inspired a lot of people along the way... It's huge for us in the sport to have gender equality now."
As well as four Olympic medals, Fox also has 10 world championship medals (seven gold) and seven World Cup titles.
