Ahead of her return to the Canoe Slalom World Championships, triple Olympic champion Jess joins the podcast direct from the team training camp in Oklahoma to talk through her tumultuous 2025, where she was forced to miss the World Champs in her hometown of Sydney after the detection of a tumour on one of her kidneys.

We chat about how she dealt with the enforced layoff, the response of the Australian and paddling community, and how the experience gave her a new perspective.

We also talk about a busy start to 2026 which included being cheerleader for the Australian Winter Olympics team in Milano Cortina, before a successful return to Canoe Slalom at the World Cup.

Hear more from Jess specifically about the 2026 World Champs in Oklahama on Thursday’s episode of ‘The Whistle’.

Recorded July, 2026.

Cover image: Romain Bruneau/Paddle Photography