You may not know athlete Jessica Peris, but you will have heard of her very famous mum!
The 31-year-old is the daughter of Aussie icon and former Olympic gold medalist, Nova Peris and is one of the constants set to dominate on SAS Australia 2021.
While Nova is a revered athlete, Jessica hasn’t been without a scandal or two, having made headlines in the past over her tumultuous relationships with rugby players, Jah Coe in 2012 and Shaun Kenny-Dowall in 2016.
Jah is the father of Jessica’s twelve year old son, Isaac, who Jessica proudly shows off on her social media.
Sadly, both relationships ended up in the courtroom with allegations of domestic violence and all of their dirty laundry being aired across the country.
Jessica worked hard at getting her life back on track with her focus set on athletics, but she was back in the headlines in 2018 when she found herself caught up in a doping scandal after testing positive for a banned substance.
The sprinter was forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games selection trials in the wake of the scandal and was slapped with a ban that means she can’t compete again until 2022.
Before her ban, it looked like Jessica would follow in the footsteps of her legendary mum, Nova, who was part of the Australian women’s field hockey team at the 1996 Olympics, before turning her attention to sprinting.
Nova competed in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and 2000 Olympic Games as a sprinter, where she became the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She also appeared on Survivor Australia’s Champions versus Contenders in 2019.
Will Jessica’s appearance on SAS Australia be her shot at redemption? We’re rooting for her!
Find out on SAS Australia 2021 on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
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