Nick Harding | @nickhdg | Sportscene - Slalom Expert John Gregory recalls his London 2012 memories with Roger Fox, father of 5-time World Champion Richard, grandfather of London K1M silver medallist Jess and her younger sister Noemie, who recently won the Australian Youth Olympic Games K1W.

London 2012; 12,000 people a day in the grandstands; oblivious. Oblivious to the fact that they could have been sitting next to some of the most respected people in the canoe world.

Canoeing is like that, a close-knit community where everyone knows each other and athletes are mere mortals not celebrities. In reality there are very few Estanguet's of this world who become household names.

Yet since London 2012 our hunger for canoesport has grown and we're starting to see the emergence of more paddle-stars. Baillie, Stott and McKeever are the public faces of modern canoeing in the UK – more than any paddler could have imagined 20 years ago and I bet K1M gold medallist Daniele Molmenti can't go to a supermarket in Italy without being harassed!

On the grass by the get-out at the GB selection last month, John starts to reminisce.

He tells me that the London 2012 finals were sentimental as familiar canoe faces; ex-athletes, coaches, physiotherapists, commentators, those who had left for canoe roles abroad, had all descended on Lee Valley together, reuniting to relive the past in an incredible present.

Not so long ago champions would take the train to Cheshunt with their families and walk side by side with the thousands of excitable ticket-holders. Gareth Marriott, Olympic Silver at Barcelona and 4th at Atlanta was one such indistinct individual in a cap, t-shirt and jeans.

Unless you were a die-hard fan, you would have had no idea who these people were!

John then points at an older gentleman in a flat cap crossing a bridge. Making his way to the central island at Lee Valley, the man is inconspicuous, nobody batters an eyelid who he is. It was Roger Fox, a bit of a celebrity in his own right.

John first came into contact with Richard as a teenager. John was volunteering recording split times with a stopwatch on the bridge that bisects the middle of the course at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham.

“Richard came over to me and asked 'how was my run?' I thought, 'I'm not qualified to make any comment as you're', whatever he was then, '3-time World Champion!'. Richard’s interest was how his split times compared with Shaun, Ian and Melvyn and on which option on a particular gate sequence was quickest.”

Over the years coaching slalom, John developed a good relationship with UK-based Roger. The pair provided commentary for the ’92 World Cup at Nottingham amongst other events. Roger was also Vice-Chair of the Slalom Committee which John was also on in those days.

John continues story-telling, how he was fortunate enough to sit next to him in one of the stands on finals day at London 2012.

Roger was tense during Jess's qualification run: “I was used to Richard making it at the last minute, so when Jess only just got into the final I was breathing very heavily.”

It's also worth mentioning what happened just before the K1W final:

Hounslow and Florence are the final C2 duo down; 2nd place over the line, silver. There is an eruption of noise as it's a GB gold/silver. The home crowd are pumped with adrenaline.

The K1W was next; Jess's turn. Now Jess is part English, so as you can imagine the crowd really got behind her like she was one of their own. John and Roger tightly held hands.

Jess had a time of 1:46.51 – silver. A very proud grandfather Roger was:
“I knew she could do it. She's come on well in the last couple of years. It's a good progression because Richard was fourth in '92 Olympics, Myriam [Jerusalmi-Fox, her mother] was third, the bronze in '96, Jess's silver here in 2012, so who's going to win 2016?”

John is confident that because of Jess's form at 2012 she will win gold, if not at Rio at the Games after (we'll hold you to this John!). He believes that “Fox is going to be a familiar name for many years to come in canoe slalom.”

This is interesting because it leads us nicely back to the canoe bubble. Not only is the slalom community fairly anonymous, more often than not great champions are connected by family or blood. Slalom is good ground for match-making!

'96/'00 K1W gold medallist and 4th at London, Štěpánka Hilgertová (CZE) married Luboš Hilgert for example; he competed in the '92 and '96 Olympics, and their son, Luboš Hilgert Junior, is an active slalom paddler.

GB's K1M Melvyn Jones, 7th at Barcelona '92, married same year Olympic K1W Champion Lisa Micheler (GER) - they were also enjoying the London 2012 spectacle in the crowd with one of their daughters. They took the train too!

And back to the Foxes again, Rachel this time. Rachel is Richard's sister, Jess's aunt; she bidded for a K1W medal in '92 and '96 and was 5 times British K1W National Slalom Champion between 1992-98. Her husband is GB paddler David Crosbee who won a bronze medal in K1M Team at the 1990 Pre-Worlds.

Peeling back slalom identities is an endless onion.

So next time you're at a major event have a good look at the person in front of you on the train, behind you in the coffee queue, sat next to you in the stand – there could be more than meets the eye to them!