It's a long way from Penrith but rubbing shoulders with the royals in London is all part of Olympic glory. Proudly parading her silver medal from the slalom kayaking event on Friday, teenage Games sensation Jessica Fox met with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in London.

Fellow kayaker Warwick Draper and basketball captain Lauren Jackson also attended the special meeting at the Team Great Britain headquarters in London.

A beaming Jackson, 31, was particularly overwhelmed, admitting she had a "huge crush" on Prince William as a teenager. "I had to contain myself, I'm not going to lie," a beaming Jackson said after the intimate meeting. "I can't wipe the smile off my face."

But it's the bright smile of 18-year-old Fox that currently has Australia talking.

Penrith princess Jessica Fox
The kayaker is already becoming a household name - and is tipped by pundits to become the international face of her sport for years to come. Fox pulled off the nation's best-ever result in the slalom and no one could have been more excited than her mother, who also met the royal visitors.

Myriam Fox competed for France in the same event herself 16 years ago, taking bronze. Extraordinarily, Czech Stepanka Hilgertova, who beat Myriam at the Atlanta Olympics, was knocked out of the London medals by her daughter this week. Jessica Fox said:

My mum won bronze in Atlanta and now here I am winning silver, it's an amazing thing to share, what an amazing experience. Not every 18-year-old has this experience.

She was born in Marseilles but moved to Penrith in 1998 when her father, British-born five-time world canoeing champion Richard Fox, became Australian coach. Perhaps it is no surprise that her little sister, Noemi, also kayaks.

A two-time junior world champion in both kayak and canoe, Fox was awarded dux by Blaxland High School this year. And, last year she won News Local's Junior Sports Star of the Year award.

"She's incredibly intelligent and balanced," said Danielle Woodward, director of athletes services for the Australian Olympic Committee.

"She is so young and so talented you can guarantee she is going to be around for a long time. If she keeps coming on, she will be unstoppable by the time we get to Rio."