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AAP
AAP
Roger Vaughan

Fox, Ockenden ready to perform after opening ceremony

Eddie Ockenden and Jessica Fox are rapt to be the Australian flag bearers at the opening ceremony. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

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.

Jessica Fox
Eddie Ockenden and Jessica Fox were named Olympic flag bearers at a Paris function on Wednesday. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

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.

"So I feel ready."

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'."

In terms of how the late night might impact his form, it was much more straightforward for Ockenden.

"I have three young boys, so I haven't slept much in seven years," he said with a grin.

Still, when Meares rang Ockenden the day his fifth Olympic selection was confirmed, there was an awkward moment of silence as the enormity of her invitation hit him.

Modest as always, Ockenden was mortified at the memory.

"'What are you doing Ed?' ... I was really shocked. Maybe the whole moment was hitting me ... what was I doing?," he said.

Ockenden is the first Tasmanian to be the flag bearer and he is very proud of his roots.

On stage at the announcement, when he was engaged in banter with host Eddie McGuire, Ockenden's face fell just briefly when McGuire joked "two Eds are better than one".

Ockenden later did not deny the comment raised his hackles.

"I really do love representing Tassie - as part of Australia, obviously, but I feel such a strong connection there," he said.

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.

Jessica Fox
As Jessica Fox's father Richard puts it, this is now the Jess and Ed Show" at the Paris Olympics. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

"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.

"I couldn't find better examples to lead this team."

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.

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