Australian mogul skier Jakara Anthony has started the 2024-2025 FIS World Cup season with a silver medal performance overnight in Ruka, Finland.
 
The podium result is the 42nd medal of her incredible career, and now holds the record for the most ever World Cup podiums by an Australian winter sports athlete, eclipsing the previous record of 41 held by aerial skier Kirstie Marshall.
 
In the super-final medal round, Anthony put down a strong run scoring 80 points from the judges but was narrowly outscored by French skier Perrine Laffont on 81.13, with American Olivia Giaccio rounding out the podium in third place with 76.95 points.
 
“Pretty happy with what we have been able to achieve walking away with a second place at the start of a super long season, it’s a great way to kick it off” said the 26-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.
 
“Breaking the record for the most World Cup medals is an impressive stat, I never find out about these things until I have broken it, that’s a cool one and another accolade, super proud of me and my team and how we have been able to go about completing that, it’s been a big journey, there is still a long way to go and we will be looking to rack up a few more this season.
 
“Over the week that the course has been up here in Ruka we have kind of had every condition that’s possible from pretty big soft bumps to little icy ones, so have had to use all sorts of skills out there, but pretty lucky we have been able to work it out.
 
“It’s great to have so many chicks up that top end of the sport, that’s what makes it exciting, we are all going out there each day fighting for that top spot, which means we are all pushing each other and we have seen the sport progress a lot over the past four years.”
 
In the men’s event, Matt Graham and Cooper Woods qualified for finals in third and ninth place respectively, but in the final missed out on advancing to the top-six super final in 10th and 13th place.
 
Canadian Mikael Kingsbury finished in first place, with Walter Wallberg of Sweden in second, with third place going to Ikuma Horishima of Japan.
 
Also in action for Australia was Charlotte Wilson who finished in 20th place in her World Cup debut and in the men’s event Oliver Logan finished in 44th with George Murphy recording a did not finish.
 
Next weekend the World Cup mogul skiing tour moves to Sweden for a single and dual mogul event on December 6 and 7.

Jakara Anthony’s unstoppable form continued with her 13th victory of the season in the dual moguls event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, extending the total for the most ever wins in a season by a mogul skier, and so claiming all three World Cup Crystal globes with one event remaining next week in Italy. Anthony recorded back-to-back wins in Kazakhstan after the previous day’s record-breaking single moguls competition.

The NSWIS skier cruised through the early rounds of the event to reach the big final against world number two Jaelin Kauf of the USA. In a close final with both skiers neck-and-neck throughout the run, Anthony prevailed with a score of 18 to 17, giving the 2022 Olympic champion the 21st victory of her impressive career and now only three wins behind aerial skiing legend Jacqui Cooper who leads all Australian winter sport athletes with 24 career World Cup victories.

“That’s a few back-to-back wins for the season now, we are getting to the end of the season now, this was our 15th event, so to be able to keep bring that week after week I am really proud of that”, said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“Being the top seed in duals means you switch lines every dual round, and I have been lucky to be the top seed most of the season, so I am quite confident at it now, but it was a bit rattling at the start of the season, so it’s really good training for me.”

“We have one more start next week in Valmalenco, and then it’s season done.”

In the men’s event, NSWIS teammate Matt Graham reached the quarter-final stage, finishing in ninth place after losing a narrow dual to eventual bronze medallist American Landon Wendler in a score of 17-18. Canadian Mikael Kingsbury claimed the victory, with Pavel Kolmakov of Kazakhstan in second place.

The mogul skiers l now head to Italy for the final World Cup of the season in Valmalenco, Italy, competing in a dual mogul event. In Valmalenco the Crystal Globes for dual moguls and overall moguls will be presented, where Anthony has an unbeatable lead in the rankings.

NSWIS skier Jakara Anthony’s unbelievable form has continued with her 12th World Cup victory of the 2023-2024 season in Almaty, Kazakhstan, breaking the record for the most wins in a single season by a mogul skier. Also joining Anthony on the podium was NSWIS teammate Matt Graham in the men’s event with a bronze medal performance.

The previous record of 11 wins was set by legendary American Olympic Champion mogul skier Hannah Kearney during the 2011-2012 season, and has the opportunity to further extend her total with two dual mogul events remaining.

Anthony also received the Crystal Globe as the World Cup champion in the single moguls discipline for the second straight year, after winning a remarkable seven of eight events in that discipline and now has 20 career World Cup victories.

In a commanding performance, Anthony won every stage of the competition to advance to the super-final medal round, scoring 82.74 points to comfortably take the victory 6.57 points ahead of American Alli Macuga of the USA in second place on 76.17, with her teammate Hannah Soar in third with 73.84.

”Today was pretty phenomenal, I can finally talk about that record 12 wins in one season, the most ever by a mogul skier, and to finally get the Crystal Globe in my hand for the first time in person is a pretty special feeling”, said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“Crystal Globes are so hard to come by as you have to ski so consistently all season, to get another one I never dreamt of this.”

“We have a dual moguls event here tomorrow, and then one next week in Valmalenco, Italy, so have a bit more skiing to do. Duals is a different game but it’s going to be in the next Olympics in Milan in 2026, so I am looking forward to getting some more volume competing in that discipline and learning some new skills I can take there.”

In the men’s event, Matt Graham had his second medal performance of the season and 25th podium of his career after finishing in third place. Graham scored 80.81 points in the super final to finish behind event winner Mikael Kingsbury of Canada on 84.49, with Ikuma Horishima of Japan in second place with 83.48 points.

“This course here suits me a lot, and I was able to put my high degree of difficulty down with a back double full and cork 1080 run together, which I haven’t done too often, and moving forward into the next Olympic campaign that’s the goal for me and compete with the likes of Ikuma and Mikael“, said the 29-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.

Jakara Anthony’s incredible record-breaking season has continued with her eleventh World Cup victory of the season in the dual moguls event in Deer Valley, USA. The win also secured the World Cup Mogul Skiing Overall Crystal Globe at the iconic event, regarded as the “Superbowl” of freestyle skiing as and most prestigious competition on the World Cup circuit.

Anthony has broken the record for most career mogul skiing wins by an Australian with the 19th victory of her career, going past legendary two-time Olympic medallist Dale Begg-Smith. The eleventh win of the season also ties American Olympic champion Hannah Kearney for the most World Cup wins in a single season by a mogul skier.

In front of the largest crowd of the season under lights on the Champion run, Anthony cruised through the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final rounds to reach the big final.

In the gold medal run, Anthony faced her main rival this season, American Jaelen Kauf, where Anthony putting down a fast and flawless run to take the win with a score of 22 points to 13 from the judges. In head-to-head duals against Kauf this season, Anthony has the edge with four to one.

Rounding out the podium in third place was Olivia Giaccio.

”That’s definitely one of my best competition runs I have ever done, and especially my best here on the Champion run, so to do that in the big final against Jaelin was a pretty special moment” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“There is no event World Cup like this one, the atmosphere is incredible, the whole finish area is packed with people so to get to perform and put on a show for them is a really special feeling.”

“Locking up eleven wins and equalling Hannah Kearney for the record for the most in the season is absolutely mind blowing.”

Cooper Woods was the highest placed Australian in the men’s event, reaching the quarter-final stage in seventh place, with George Murphy 33rd, Oliver Logan 36th and Matt Graham in 51st.

Three World Cup events remain this season, with the next competition set to take place in a months’ time in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 8-9, and the final event of the season in Valmalenco, Italy, on March 16.

“It’s a really big season for us this year, we have already had 13 competition starts with three to go. We are going to get a training camp in the next few weeks, and fine tune some of the finer details of my run, and then get back out there in Kazakhstan and wrap the season up in Italy,” said Anthony.

SINGLE MOGUL WORLD CUP
Two days earlier in Deer Valley, a single moguls World Cup took place on the "Champion Run", where unusually warm temperatures impacted the conditions, with the wet snow making the difficult course inconsistent and slow.

NSWIS skier Matt Graham recorded the best result of the Australian athletes, finishing ninth while with teammate Cooper Woods was unable to finish his finals run and  a ranking of 16th. George Murphy had his second best performance of the season in 23rd place, and Oliver Logan was 35th.

After dominating the qualification phase of the competition by almost 10 points, Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony made an uncharacteristic mistake in finals. The course got slower on the top jump, causing a miscalculation on the rotation for her d-spin 720 with grab and came in short on the landing to place 13th.

Early Sunday morning Jakara Anthony continued her incredible record breaking season with her tenth World Cup victory of the season in the dual moguls event in Waterville, USA.

Anthony now joins legendary Olympic champion and two-time medallist Dale Begg-Smith with 18 career World Cup victories, the most ever by an Australian mogul skier.

In overcast conditions the NSWIS skier cruised through the early rounds of the event to reach the semi-final stage against American Tess Johnson, where Anthony recorded a comfortable win 32 points to 3.

Anthony then faced her main rival this season, American Jaelen Kauf in the gold medal run, and in a close battle Anthony narrowly prevailed with a score of 18-17 to give the 2022 Olympic gold medallist her eighth straight victory in a row.

Rounding out the podium in third place was Olivia Giaccio who is also from America.

”It was really cool to come to Waterville, I haven’t been to too many brand new places on tour recently, so get to come to somewhere new and experience it has been really awesome, and I love competing in the United States,” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

In the men’s event NSWIS athlete Cooper Woods made it through to the quarter final stage to finish in seventh place, with teammates George Murphy in 29th, Oliver Logan 39th and Matt Graham 46th.

The mogul skiing athletes now head to Deer Valley in the USA, for another single and dual mogul event next weekend on the always testing “Champion Run” at the 2002 Olympic venue.

Anthony is one win away from equalling 2010 Olympic champion Hannah Kearney of the USA for the most ever wins in a season by a mogul skier, which the American achieved in the 2011-2012 World Cup season.

“Deer Valley is always the highlight of the season for everyone, so really looking to that,” said Anthony.

“They put on a good show there and it’s one of my favourite courses. It’s where I got my first World Cup start, my first World Championship podium and I had a win there last year, so looking forward to getting back there.”

“It’s been a crazy season, one win off that record set by Hannah Kearney, it’s getting close now, we will have to see what the rest of season brings, but I won’t be focusing on that too much, that’s when I might start making mistakes, so keep focusing on what I need to do out there and get better every competition.”

On Saturday Jakara Anthony’s record setting season has continued, claiming her ninth World Cup victory of the season, and securing the World Cup season Crystal Globe title for single moguls in another amazing day for Australian mogul skiing, on which teammate Cooper Woods broke through for his first career World Cup podium in Waterville, USA, the birthplace of freestyle skiing.

In a dominant performance, the NSWIS skier again won every stage of the competition, and in the super-final medal round scored 81.22 points to finish a huge 9.49 points clear of Olympic silver medallist Jaelen Kauf of the USA in second place on 71.71 points, with another American Hannah Soar rounding out the podium in third on 67.93 points. Anthony now has 17 career World Cup wins and is one victory away from matching the legendary Dale Begg-Smith on 18 career victories.

That's awesome, I kind of knew it in the back of my head, but all the focus was out there on the run, so to get the job done on a pretty tricky course I am over the moon,” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“It’s crazy to have locked that up (Crystal Globe) so early (two events remaining) and to have taken so many (wins) in a row, you can’t think about it too much, because that’s a pretty fragile stat there, but I am pretty stoked to have achieved that this season.”

In the men’s event Cooper Woods has been showing great potential since finishing sixth at the 2022 Olympic Games. Woods has qualified for finals in every event this season, has been close to the podium and finally his performance claimed the first World Cup medal of his career. Woods ended the day with the silver medal, finishing ahead of Olympic champions Mikael Kingsbury of Canada and Walter Wallberg of Sweden in the men’s super-final.

Woods scored 81.04 points to finish in second place behind Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima of Japan who took the win with a score of 85.84, with Kingsbury in third with 80.07 points.

“Today was all different conditions, it was firm this morning and as the weather changed the course changed, but all you can do is just focus on the one run, and I got the qualifications, finals and then the super-final, I left nothing back and it’s nice to see a score, “said the 23-year-old from Pambula Beach in NSW.

Also in action for Australia was Olympic medallist Matt Graham who reached finals finishing in 13th, with NSWIS teammates George Murphy and Oliver Logan unable to complete their runs.

Jakara Anthony’s incredible season has reached a new milestone, setting the record for the most World Cup wins in a single season by an Australian in any wintersport discipline, with her eighth victory under lights in the dual moguls in Val St Come, Canada.

The victory sees Anthony move past former teammate Britt Cox who had seven World Cup wins in the 2016-2017 season, and Anthony can further add to the tally with a further seven World Cup events remaining this winter.

The NSWIS skier moved though the early rounds with ease, setting up a semi-final against Rino Yanagmoto of Japan. In her most competitive matchup of the day, Anthony took the victory with a score of 21 points to 14.

In the big final to decide the gold medal, Anthony faced American Jaelin Kauf, the only other skier to also win an event this season. Both skiers pushed their limits into the top air, but Kauf was unable to maintain the pace crashing out in the middle section, giving Anthony her 16th career win with a score of 35-0.

“You dream of coming and skiing World Cup when you are a little kid, but to actually be here and be as dominant as I am at the moment is really special,” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“Today was another good day, I made it through each round as it came, I think I did some really good skiing. Pushed super hard against Jaelin and she went hard as well, we put on a good show for everyone and it’s nice to go out there and be challenged by the other girls.”

In the men’s event, 2018 NSWIS Olympic silver medallist Matthew Graham won his first World Cup medal of the season and 24th of his career, finishing third after a freak accident saw his opponent Ben Cavet of France in the bronze medal duel crossing over into Graham’s side of the course, with Graham landing on the French skier whilst completing the top air jump.

“The course here is amazing, the guys who built it did a great job here in Canada and the organising committee, we are skiing some big proper moguls and I love that," said the 29-year-old Graham from the NSW Central Coast.

“Really happy to walk away from that crash against Ben, probably one of the scariest crashes I have been in, I just saw him at the last minute and pulled my legs though to try and miss landing on his face essentially.”

“I took a bit of time off after the Ruka World Cup (in early December), because I had a couple of shoulder surgeries over the course of 2023 so I missed the offseason. I then went back home and went to the water ramps and cut my knee really bad and had to have surgery just a month ago, so this is the first time I have skied since Ruka and I am just stoked to be back and the body is feeling good.”

Also in action for Australia were NSWIS teammates Cooper Woods who had a personal best dual mogul finish in fifth place, with George Murphy in 38th and Oliver Logan 40th.

The mogul skiers will now go to Waterville Valley in the USA, for another single and dual mogul event next weekend.

Australian mogul skier Jakara Anthony continued her unstoppable form into the new year with her seventh World Cup victory of the season under lights in Val St Come, Canada.

The performance sees Anthony equal former teammate Britt Cox for the most mogul skiing World Cup wins in a season by an Australian mogul athlete, and now has 15 career World Cup gold medals, moving closer to legendary Australian mogul skier Dale Begg-Smith’s 18 career victories and within sight of Jacqui Cooper’s all Australian winter sport record of 24.

The NSWIS skier was again dominant winning all three phases of the competition, scoring 82.01 points in the super-final to record a large victory margin of 7.14 points over American Jaelin Kauf in second place, with Hinako Tomitaka of Japan rounding out the podium in third.

“It’s getting a little tricky in there now, I definitely think I came out and did some of my best skiing in qualifications, which isn’t normally how it goes, but loving getting to ski out here on the course, it’s pretty fun,” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“It’s my third World Cup here and first win, one place better than last year.”

In the men’s event, the 2018 Olympic silver medallist Matt Graham was the best placed Australian in ninth, with NSWIS teammate Cooper Woods also advancing through to finals in 15th place. Graham’s performance was a very positive return to competition after a month’s break in Australia.

Also in action for Australia was George Murphy in 32nd and Oliver Logan in 38th.

It has been an incredible start to the 2023-2024 northern hemisphere winter for Australia with a gold medal overnight to mogul skier Jakara Anthony in Ruka, Finland, and a silver medal in the big air in Beijing, China, for snowboarder Tess Coady.

It was the opening event of the season for the 2022 Olympic medallists, with Anthony winning for the second consecutive time to start the season in Ruka and for Coady the second place finish was the best big air result of her World Cup career.

Anthony put in a commanding performance, winning every stage of the mogul competition to record the ninth World Cup victory of her career.

In the super-final medal round, Anthony put down a flawless run to score 84.18 points, with a large victory margin of 4.5 points over second place finisher Elizabeth Lemley of the USA who scored 79.68 and fellow American Olivia Giaccio with 76.35 points.

“It’s been really awesome to go back-to-back last year and this year here in Ruka and really proud of the way I was able to ski out there and have a lot fun whilst I was doing it,“ said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“It’s been a little different this year, we are missing Perrine Laffont and Anri, those girls I am usually mixing it up with, but still such a strong field in the women’s and it’s exciting to see everyone out there and pushing it.”

“We are definitely looking forward to hanging onto this (the yellow lead bib),but we will see what comes, I just want to
go out there and have a crack and give it my best.”

In the men’s event dual 2023 World Championship medallist Matt Graham was unlucky not to make the super-final, missing out by one place in seventh. Also in the final was Cooper Woods in 16th, with Oliver Logan in 31st in his World Cup debut and George Murphy 38th.

The mogul skiing athletes will now head to the Swedish resort of Idre Fjäll for a double event next weekend on December 8-9.

The first event for the FIS Freestyle World Cup season takes place this weekend in Ruka, Finland, with the Australian Aerial and Mogul skiing teams based at the Finish resort for a number of weeks, training on the World Cup courses in the lead in to the first event.

First up will be the Mogul World Cup on Saturday December 2, with Olympic gold medallist and 2023 World Cup single moguls champion Jakara Anthony looking to replicate her win at Ruka 12-months-ago. 2023 dual World Championship medallist Matt Graham will be competing for the first time since end of season shoulder surgery which impacted his Australian winter, and has worked extremely hard to make it to the start line for the opening event.

Also in action will be Olympic finalist Cooper Woods, Jackson Harvey, George Murphy and making his debut will be 19-year-old Oliver Logan.

"Ruka has been good so far. I am still getting my legs back a bit after my disrupted off-season due to multiple shoulder surgeries," said Graham the 2018 Olympic silver medallist.

"I am pretty confident with how I am skiing and jumping, and I believe I am in a good position to have a good performance this weekend."

"I am excited to get the season underway and see what I am capable of considering how little I have been able to train this year."

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Snow Australia’s Emerging Talent Program (ETP) Moguls athletes and the NSWIS Moguls Team are jumping to new heights at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre at Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane this week.

Under the guidance of ETP Moguls Head Coach Ethan Topalovic and NSWIS Moguls Head Coach Kate Blamey, the up-and-coming mogul skiers are in camp practicing their jumps on the water ramps, learning about strength, recovery and nutrition, and attending workshops to gain a better understanding of what it takes to excel in their chosen sport.
On Thursday afternoon, the athletes had the chance to sit down with moguls Olympic medallists Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham.

In an intimate Q&A session with the multiple World Cup and World Championship medallists, the young athletes relished the opportunity to soak up knowledge on pre-competition preparation strategies, how to move new tricks from the water to snow, how to handle pressure and expectations and how to stay motivated.

"It was super cool to chat to Jakara and Matt today and get an insight into their whole mogul skiing journey,” said NSWIS skier Charlotte WIlson. “It's good to know what we can work on so early on in our journey to ultimately be just like the two of them. 

"Something they said which stuck with me was to just take every opportunity as it comes. We have so many amazing opportunities and so many training camps so making sure that we get the most out of those opportunities is really important.

"We do cross over with the World Cup group a lot so it's really amazing to see them train. Seeing their camaraderie in the gym is nice and helps us to push ourselves and set goals like they do. You know, we want to lift as much as Jakara and be as strong as Matt so we can do all the tricks they do on water. I really admire them, how hard they work and all the steps they've taken to get where they are today.

"It's really just motivated me to work even harder, seeing where they are, and knowing maybe I could be there too."

Olympic silver medallist Matt Graham said he wanted to remind the younger athletes to make the most of every opportunity, especially having access to these new state-of-the-art facilities, and to never stop having fun.

“The key themes from my perspective is to make the most of every opportunity, make sure you’re enjoying yourself, and enjoying the sport, the people around you and having fun,” Graham said.

“I hope these opportunities can help inspire this next generation to give it their all and enjoy all the experiences they’re lucky enough to have. 

“This facility wasn't here when I was growing up and it’s pretty nice for these guys to come up here… and it’s pretty unique in our sport to train alongside the world’s best, whether it’s here at the Jumps or at Perisher on Toppa’s Dream, it’s very unique.”

Beijing 2022 Olympic Champion Anthony said it’s great to chat with the next generation, and while she loves sharing what’s helped in her career, her biggest advice was to get out there and learn through personal experience.

“There’s all sorts of things I wish I knew when I was their age, but I think a lot of that you can only learn through experiences or through meeting certain people in your career,” she said.

“Hopefully they've got some good people that they meet along the way and that can give them that advice and they take it on board. It’s up to you as well to make what you do with what people tell you.

“There’s no point doing it if you're not having fun, and getting to hang out with a pretty cool crew, so I’m sure they’re having the time of their life.”

ETP Moguls Head Coach Topalovic said it’s been satisfying to witness the progress of his group of 13-17 year olds over the past few days in Brisbane.

“I think it's super rewarding to watch these athletes grow at a pretty fast rate compared to what you would get at the high performance end,” he said.

“Watching these athletes at a grassroot level change their skiing overnight, is incredible.

“It's awesome to see them learn and grow not just as athletes, but as humans. With these athletes that I’m coaching right now, all I want to do is help them achieve their goals, whether that be to ski and have fun with my friends, or whether they want to be an Olympic champion.

“Whatever their goal is, my goal is to help them achieve that in any way I can. Touching on your goals; you're part of their program.”

The ETP Athletes wrap up their Water Jump camp this week, with plans to travel to Winter Park, Colorado in early 2024 for an on-snow training camp. The NSWIS team return to Brisbane for another camp in early November before their on-snow season starts in Colorado in late November.

Article Courtesy of Snow Australia

Matt Graham has finished the season in style, with back-to-back bronze medal performances at the mogul skiing World Cup final in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this time in the dual moguls event.
 
The podium result is Graham’s fifth of the season in World Cup events and combined with his spectacular double medal performance at the recent World Championships, a super successful season for the 28-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
Graham started the day in great form with victories in the round-of-16 over Benjamin Cavet of France, and in the quarterfinals over Canadian Elliot Vaillancourt, with both runs scored in Graham’s favour 21 points to 14.
 
In the semi-final, Graham was up against the legendary Mikael Kingsbury of Canada. Graham put up a strong performance, but went down in a score of 21 to 14 in Kingsbury’s favour.
 
Graham then faced Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima in the dual for third place, with Graham taking the bronze medal 22 to 13.
 
Kingsbury took the win in the final against Walter Wallberg of Sweden with a score of 22-13, with the silver medal giving Wallberg enough points to just edge Matt Graham for third place in the overall standings, which incorporates results from both disciplines.
 
Graham has finished the season standings ranked second in moguls, fifth in dual moguls and fourth in the overall moguls.
 
“Today is a little bittersweet, losing the overall third place on the standings to Walter, but to his credit, he had an amazing season as well,” said the 2018 Olympic silver medallist.
 
“I am really happy with where I am skiing right now and still really enjoying the sport, so looking forward to coming back next year.”
 
With the season now complete, Graham reflected on what he has achieved.  
 
“For me personally and our team Deer Valley was a big highlight, in the single moguls we had the double gold with myself and Jakara Anthony, which doesn’t happen too often for Australia, so that was super special. Also, the World Championships in Georgia, with back-to-back medals was another special occasion.”
 
“All the work I put in during the off season to come back from injury and know that I can still push it against the best guys is really exciting for me.”
 
Next up in Almaty will be the aerial skiing World Cup final, with Danielle Scotty looking to secure her first ever Crystal Globe. Scott is in first place with 382 points, leading Canadian Marion Thenault on 290, with Australian teammate Laura Peel in third on 262.

Matt Graham has finished the mogul skiing season ranked second in the world, after claiming a bronze medal overnight in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
 
After his 2022 Olympic campaign was decimated by injury, Graham has bounced back in impressive form, with four World Cup medals this season and a spectacular double medal performance at the recent World Championships.
 
2022 Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony was unable to compete at the World Cup final, but after her dominant performances earlier in the season where she won the opening four events, had an unbeatable lead in the women’s mogul standings to claim the third Crystal Globe and world number one ranking of her career.
 
In the men’s super-final, Graham put down the fastest run of the round, scoring 78.42 points to finish third, the 22nd World Cup podium of his career.
 
Taking the win was Canadian Mikael Kingsbury with 85.67 points and local Kazakhstan skier Pavel Kolmakov in second with 78.72.
 
“Coming off an injury last year to bounce back this way is really exciting for me and fuels the fire moving forward” said the 28-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
The final event of the season will take place tonight in Kazakhstan, with the athletes competing in the dual moguls event, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina in Italy.
 
With the bronze medal finish, Graham has now moved into third on the overall moguls standings which incorporates both mogul disciplines and will be looking to maintain his spot on the overall podium.
 
“I am fighting for third in the overall against Walter Wallberg, so I am going to have to battle it out and try and make it through all of the rounds and hopefully come home with the bronze.”
 
“I will leave it all out on the table and give it my all, it’s the last day of the season.”
 

Mogul skier Matt Graham has claimed his second medal at the 2023 FIS World Championships, capturing the bronze medal in the dual moguls overnight in Bakuriani, Georgia, becoming just the second Australian to ever win two medals at a FIS World Championships after Dale Begg-Smith's gold and silver in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, back in 2007.
 
Graham has now collected an impressive four World Championship medals across his career and has won at least one medal at each of the past three World titles, which are held every two years.
 
After taking the silver medal in the single moguls in Georgia, Graham was full of confidence heading into the dual moguls, which will feature in the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in 2026 at Milano-Cortina, Italy.
 
Graham had victories in the round of 32 against British skier Thomas Gerken-Schofield and Kosuke Sugimoto in the round of 16 to reach the quarter final stage.
 
After defeating Nick Page of the USA in the quarter-final, Graham then faced 2022 Olympic gold medallist Walter Wallberg of Sweden in the semi-final, going down 14-21 points. .
 
In the duel for the bronze medal, Graham then defeated Pavel Kolmakov of Kazakhstan with a score of 20-15 for his second medal at the World Championships.
 
“To go back-to-back in any World Cup or World Championships is awesome, and now we have the opportunity to do it at the Olympics, in three years’ time assuming I am there – that’s what I will be chasing,” said the 28-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“It felt pretty exhausting to be honest. There are a lot of runs in duals and the intensity was so high, and it’s been a long week with three training days and two competition days. At the top I was just trying to psych myself up and get the legs firing each run and just happy to make it down and get through all the rounds and come away with a bronze medal.”
 
“Strength and conditioning off snow is so important, and now having duals at the Olympics it’s even more important to have to put runs down back-to-back on such a quick timeline, so I guess I need to get home and back in the gym.”
 
Cooper Woods had a number of impressive duels in the early rounds and was unlucky not to advance through to the quarter finals, with the judges awarding his round of 16 dual to Kolmakov 18-17, giving him a final ranking of ninth.
 
Also in action for Australia in just a second start in the World Championship were George Murphy in 14th place and Jackson Harvey in 19th.

Mogul skier Matt Graham has claimed the second medal for Australia at the 2023 FIS World Championships, with a silver medal performance overnight in Bakuriani, Georgia. Graham has now won medals at the last three World Championships, which are held every two years.
 
The 2018 Olympic silver medallist placed fifth in the first round of finals with a score of 85.60 points, and then stepped it up in the super-final with a huge score of 88.90 points together with the fastest speed in 22.49 seconds.
 
Edging out Graham to take the win by just 0.92 points in the last run of the day was the defending World Champion Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, with Walter Walberg of Sweden rounding out the podium in third with a score of 88.52 points. 
 
“It’s pretty surreal to be honest” said the 28-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“Everyone was skiing so well today and so fast. In my last run I felt like I had to find three points on top of the other guys, so I just rally planted that top air well, charged though the middle section and then was just hanging on to get off the bottom air and managed to put it to my feet.”
 
“When the score came up and it was over 88, that was awesome, I knew I had put the pressure on the top guys and managed to hold onto second place, so I am over the moon.”
 
“My expectations were to come here and enjoy the experience, and really focus on putting down clean runs that I am happy with, and the results would take care of themselves. If I put that run down and came fifth place then so be it, but fortunately enough it was good for a silver, so I am really happy.”
 
Cooper Woods was the best of the other Aussie skiers in 11th place and World Championship debutants George Murphy and Jackson Harvey were 26th and 28th.
 
Earlier in the women’s competition Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony was sixth in the qualification round but slipped to 17th after having trouble with her top jump landing.
 
The mogul skiers will be back in action tonight competing in the World Championships dual mogul event.

The Australian mogul team has taken part in the final World Cup event before the World Championships, with a dual mogul event in Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy.

2022 Olympic champion Jakara Anthony was Australia's leading performer at the event, with the NSWIS skier reaching the quarter-final stage, narrowly losing her dual in a score of 17-18 to American Olivia Giaccio, giving her a final ranking of fifth.

Anthony's NSWIS teammates Matt Graham (17th), Cooper Woods (21st) and Jackson Harvey (24th) all exited the competition in the round of 32, with George Murphy (33rd) out in the round of 64.

With two World Cup events remaining in the season, Anthony has an unbeatable lead in the single moguls standings, is fifth in the dual moguls and second on the overall moguls rankings, just 49 points behind Perrine Laffont of France.

Matt Graham is ranked third in single moguls, fifth in duals and fourth on the overall standings.

The single mogul event at the World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, will take place on February 25, with dual moguls the next day on February 26.

NSWIS skier Matt Graham has carried his great form over from his win in the single moguls, with a second place finish in the dual event in Deer Valley, his third medal of the season.

Graham advanced through the rounds with ease to reach the big final against his great rival, Mikael Kingsbury of Canada. With both skiers putting it all on the line for the win, Graham unfortunately crashed out in the middle of the course, giving the win to Kingsbury with Graham having to settle for the silver.

Olympic champion Jakara Anthony reached the quarter-final stage, before narrowly being edged out by Japanese skier Rino Yanagimoto with a score of 16-19, finishing in fifth place.

Other NSWIS skiers results include Jackson Harvey in 24th, Cooper Woods 32nd and George Murphy in 45th.

The mogul skiing tour now heads to Valmalenco, Italy, for the last event before the World Championships, a dual mogul World Cup on February 11.

Australian mogul skiers Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony have recorded an incredible double gold medal performance at the World Cup event in Deer Valley, USA, becoming the second Australian pair to achieve victory on the same day.
 
For Graham, the result is even more special, as it’s his first victory in the single moguls discipline since Calgary in 2017, fittingly the last time Australia claimed victory in both events, when he did so with World Champion four-time Olympian Britt Cox.
 
Deer Valley is blue ribband World Cup event for mogul and aerial skiing. The Utah event is in its 25th edition and is held annually at the 2002 Olympic venue, “the Champion Run”.
 
Graham qualified for finals in third place, and then stepped it up in finals scoring 81.27 in the first round of finals to advance to the super-final medal round in first place.
 
In the super-final, Graham put down an incredible run to score a huge 85.35 on the steep and difficult course, to finish ahead of Mikael Kingsbury of Canada with 83.65 points with Frenchman Benjamin Cavet of France rounding out the podium with 81.82 in third.
 
“It’s a surreal feeling, I went back-to-back with Britt Cox in 2017 in Calgary, and now to get the back-to-back wins with Jakara is super special,” said the 28-year-old Olympic silver medallist from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“It was a tough long day today, the course was eating people all day, I was just happy to find my line and rip it each run.”
 
“I was having so much fun here at Deer Valley, I love this event, had my first ever win here in 2016 so it’s good to be back up here and stand on top of the podium.”
 
The victory is the fourth of Graham’s career and his 20th World Cup podium.
 
2022 Olympic Champion Anthony headed into the event with the yellow leaders bib and continued her strong form throughout the event, recording the eighth World Cup victory of her career with a score in the super-final of 80.15 points.
 
In second place was American Jaelin Kauf with a score of 77.17 with Perrine Laffont of France in third with 77.17.
 
Anthony was thrilled to share the victory with her teammate.
 
“It’s incredible, the last time was Matt and Britt Cox, so to take that top step with Matt, who I have taken a second place with before and to now take the top step is absolutely incredible and he ripped out there, his run was phenomenal.”
 
After five events the 24-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria is in first place on the World Cup standings with 480 points, 150 points ahead of Laffont of France. Anthony now has an unassailable lead in the season rankings with only one event left in early March.
 
The victory sees Graham move into third on the standings with 276 points, with Canadian Kingsbury in the lead with 440.
 
Also in action for Australia was Jackson Harvey in 14th, George Murphy in a personal best finish of 20th with Cooper Woods unfortunately not finishing his qualifying run.
 
Tomorrow it’s the aerial skiers turn to compete in Deer Valley, with the mogul skiers back in action the following day taking part in the dual moguls.

Competing in the second day of competition in Val St Come, Canada, 2018 Olympic medallist Matt Graham has just fallen short of obtaining his second podium of the season, finishing in fourth place.

The NSWIS skier had victories in the round of 32 and 16 against Japanese skiers Kosuke Sugimoto and Ikuma Horishima to advance to the semi-final stage.

In a tight semi-final against 2022 Olympic Champion Walter Wallberg of Sweden, Graham was unlucky to go down in a score of 19-16 points to the Swede.

In the dual for third place, Graham faced another Swede, Filip Gravenfors, losing another close dual 20-15.

Other Australian's in action in the dual moguls were Jakara Anthony in ninth, Jackson Harvey 15th, Cooper Woods 31st and George Murphy 38th.

The World Cup mogul tour now heads to Deer Valley, USA, with the Utah resort hosting a single moguls event on February 2 and dual moguls on February 4.

Jakara Anthony has remained the number one ranked mogul skier in the world, following a silver medal performance in Val St Come, Canada, her fifth medal of the season.

After advancing through to finals in first place, the NSWIS skier scored 81.88 points in the super final to be just edged out of first place by 0.37 points to Anri Kawamura of Japan. American Jaelin Kauf rounded out the podium in third place with a score of 78.34.

After four events, Anthony is ranked first on the mogul standings with 380 points, with French skier Parrine Laffont in second with 270 and Kawamura in third on 248.

“Definitely a solid performance, obviously wanted that top sport, but so does every girl out there, so you have to be laying it down every run,” said the 2022 Olympic Champion.

Also in action for Australia in the men’s event was Matt Graham who finished sixth in the super final, Cooper Woods 13th, Jackson Harvey 17th and George Murphy 38th.

Jakara Anthony has continued her perfect start to the World Cup season in the single moguls discipline, winning her third straight event, and also won a bronze medal in the dual moguls at Alpe d’Huez, France.

The 2022 Olympic champion recorded the seventh World Cup victory of her career, in yet another dominant performance leading from start to finish, moving through all three rounds of the competition in first place.

Competing under sunny skies in the French Alps, the NSWIS skier had the highest turn and jump points in the final to score 79.70 points to finish 3.89 points ahead of French skier Perrine Laffont while American Elizabeth Lemley took third with 74.75 points.

“Three competitions and three wins on this course is pretty crazy” said the 24-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.
“It’s heaps of fun in there, it doesn't look as hard as it is, it’s pretty difficult to ski in there so you really have to be on your game.”

In the men’s event, all three Australians made finals, led by 2018 Olympic silver medallist Matt Graham who narrowly missed advancing to the super-final in seventh place, with teammates Cooper Woods and Jackson Harvey recording strong qualifying performances but both made mistakes in the final to finish in in 15th and 16th place respectively.

BRONZE FOR ANTHONY IN DUAL MOGULS
At the dual moguls event in Alpe d’Huez in France, Jakara Anthony made it a double medal weekend with a bronze medal finish on day two, and has found the podium in four of the five moguls events this season.
 
In the semi-final round Anthony narrowly went down to eventual winner Anri Kawamura with a score of 19-16 in the Japanese skier's favour. In the dual for third place, Anthony rebounded strongly to take the bronze medal with a score of 22-13 against Avital Carroll from Austria. Perrine Laffont from France finished in second.
 
“I am very happy to be walking away with a third place today” said Anthony who is currently ranked number one in the world on the overall moguls World Cup standings.
 
“The women’s field is so strong, and myself, Perrine and Anri keep tossing around those top few spots, so it’s pretty exciting to see that keep switching up and keeping it fresh the whole tour again.”

Matt Graham and Copper Woods both finished in 19th place in the duals, with Jackson Harvey in 49th.

The mogul skiing World Cup tour will resume in North America in late January, with the first event being a double event in Val St Come, Canada.

2022 Olympic champion Jakara Anthony has made it back-to-back victories to open the season with a gold medal performance in Idre Fjäll, Sweden.

The NSWIS skier was dominant, leading from start to finish, moving through all three rounds of the competition in first place to record the sixth World Cup victory of her career, and second win of the season following on from the success at the opening World Cup event last weekend in Finland.

In the super-final, Anthony again had the highest scoring turns and jumps to score 81.75, and finish ahead on the podium of Anri Kawamura of Japan with a score of 80.02 points in second place, with French skier Perrine Laffont in third scoring 76.08.

“What a way to kick off the season” said the 24-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“I am really proud of how I have been able to progress over the days we have been on the course, there has been a lot of figuring out to do and a lot of changes to make, and I think I am making progress in the right direction.”

In the men’s event, three Australians again made finals, led by 2018 Olympic silver medallist Matt Graham who continued his strong comeback from injury with a sixth place finish, with teammate Cooper Woods narrowly behind in seventh and Jackson Harvey in eleventh in just his second World Cup start.

George Murphy improved on his debut performance the week before in Finland to finish in 35th place.

DUAL MOGULS
A dual mogul event also took place in Idre Fjäll, with Jakara Anthony again the highest placed Australian advancing through to the semi-final round. In her semi-final, Anthony was outscored 15-20 to eventual event winner Elizabeth Lemley of the USA, and in the dual for bronze narrowly lost 17-18 to Perrine Laffont of France.

Matt Graham was unlucky not to advance through to the semi-final, after going down to American Nick Page 17-18 to finish in sixth place for the second time for the weekend. NSWIS teammates Cooper Woods finished in 16th, Jackson Harvey 27th and George Murphy 37th.

Next up for the mogul skiing athletes is a double World Cup event next weekend in Alpe d'Huez, France, their final competitions before the Christmas and New Year break.

Australia’s best skiers have made a fantastic start to the mogul skiing World Cup season, with a double podium and four athletes reaching finals at the opening event in Ruka, Finland.
 
2022 Olympic Gold Medallist Jakara Anthony was spectacular, earning the highest turn and air points in the women’s super final to claim the fifth World Cup victory of her career for the 24-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria, with a huge score of 81.69, more than 3 points ahead of second place.
 
Behind Anthony on the podium was Perrine Laffont of France and Anri Kawamura of Japan finishing with identical 78.33 scores, with the tie break for second favouring Laffont.
 
“It’s my first win in Ruka ever,” Anthony said after stepping off the Ruka Podium.
 
“To kick off the season with the win and the yellow bib is pretty massive. You come into the first event and you don’t know what everyone’s been doing since last season, so it’s exciting to come out and see what everyone can do and show off what you’re capable of.”
 
“It’s a bit of a different experience for me this year, coming off such incredible experiences last season with the gold medal and the crystal globes,” Anthony continued, “I’ve definitely got a bit of a target on my back now and I think there’s going to be a lot of learning experiences this season, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
 
In the men’s event, 2018 Olympic Silver Medallist Matt Graham bounced back strongly from his injury interrupted Olympic season, to record the 19th podium of his World Cup career.
 
Joining Graham in finals were teammates Cooper Woods in tenth place, and rookie NSW Institute of Sport skier Jackson Harvey making finals in a very strong World Cup debut in 14th.
 
Canadian mogul skiing legend Mikael Kingsbury took home the victory scoring 84.5 points, ahead of Ikuma Horishima of Japan with 80.48 points, and Graham scoring 80.12
 
“I was over the moon to be back here skiing Ruka and competing again so to come away with third place is kind of nice”, said the 28-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
 “It’s been a long 12 months for me, getting injured before the Olympics, and then not having the best Olympic experience, and during the off season spending a lot of time rehabbing my collarbone which I broke last year, and not able to train as much as I would normally, so it’s nice to come here and know that I have still got it.”
 
Also in action for Australia making his debut was George Murphy in 49th.
 
The mogul skiing athletes will now head to the Swedish resort of Idre Fjäll for a double event next weekend on December 10-11.

The return of the ABOM Mogul Challenge to Mt Buller yesterday was a display of dazzling bumps skiing with an impressive international and local line up thrilled to be back on the Chamois course.
 
Familiar faces and newcomers were cheered enthusiastically by the spellbound crowd who lined the course all afternoon and into a chilly night rubbing shoulders with plenty of Olympic, World Cup and emerging talent. 
 
The blisteringly dual finals saw the top tier go head to head down the 197 metre course in just 20 seconds, squeezing in two spectacular aerial jumps between high speed bump sections.
 
The highlight of the night was Matt Graham dominating the course and the competition to take home his 7th ABOM trophy – the most titles in the history of the event, followed by Nick Cleaver who has five in his collection.
 
Austrian Avital Carrol beat out a strong stable of Japanese skiers to secure her first ABOM title.
 
Matt reflected on the win at the bottom of the course saying, “I was up against Kosuke Sugimoto and he’s one of the best skiers in the world so I just had to send it and it all came together in my last run.  It’s great to be competing again at Mt Buller under lights, it’s the second time we’ve done this and it’s pretty special to be able to it here in Australia. I’m coming back from an injury and getting back into training and loving the sport again, having a lot of fun.”
 
Avital summed up her experience taking out top place on the women’s podium, “It was super fast, super fun, charging all the time and kind of terrifying and super exciting at the same time!”
 
Event director Andrew Pattison was delighted to have the community back together, “This is the fun event that the athletes look forward to, it’s great to be back.”
 
101 athletes competed over the divisions which included open, youth and masters and Mt Buller showed the international mogul community the passion and energy the resort has for the sport beamed via a live-stream from the course.
 
OPEN WOMEN

1. Avital Carrol (Austria)
2. Rino Yanagimoto (Japan)
3. Anri Kawamura (Japan)

OPEN MEN

1. Matt Graham (Australia)
2. Kosuke Sugimoto (Japan)
3. Cooper Woods (Australia)
   

Cooper Woods has announced his arrival as a top international mogul skier with an incredible 6th place finish in freezing and blustery conditions at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.

The 21-year-old, who hails from Pambula Beach on the NSW South Coast, scored a highly impressive 78.88 in a red-hot men's final, with Sweden's Walter Wallberg upsetting pre-event favourite Canadian Mikael Kingsbury to take gold with a score of 83.23.

Cooper produced his best score of the night at the end in the super final, after working his way up through last chance qualifying, the final 20, the final 12 and eventually the final six in the cutthroat format.

In making the final six, Cooper joined Dale Begg-Smith (2006 & 2010) and Matt Graham (2018) as the only Australian men to make the a moguls super final.

"Oh wow, what a night," a jubilant Cooper said following his final run.

"It was a star-struck moment at the start of the super final actually.

"This is what I've been working towards, and I just stuck to the plan and look what happened.

"I'm really proud of what I did out there, I'm just so happy."

Cooper's teammate Brodie Summers also put in outstanding performances to finish 10th, which marked the first time two Australians had reached the 12-man final together.

The top-10 achieve for Brodie, a triple Olympian, was his best finish in Olympic competition which beats a 13th place at Sochi in 2014.

Earlier in the evening, 2018 silver medallist Matt Graham was unable to advance to the final 20 after a challenging second run, which followed his DNF in the opening qualifying round.

Matt showed enormous courage just to make the start line in Beijing, having fractured his collarbone in December 2021. 

In an emotional state post-competition, Matt refused to blame the injury on his performance.

"I don't think it stopped my performance. I just wish I could have done better," Matt said while fighting back tears.

"It's so tough to describe how I'm feeling, but this hurts more than the collarbone.

"I know I put pressure on myself after not finishing on Thursday, but I felt I was handling it really well, I just know I had so much more to give."

James Matheson was able to improve on his opening round performance with a score of 73.20, however the score was not enough to see him move through to the last 20.

A two-time Olympian, James announced his retirement from the sport following the competition and mentioned that father time has caught up with him.

"It's a young man and young lady's sport, the body just can't keep going," James said.

He will leave the sport knowing the future is incredibly bright.

"Moguls is an individual sport, but we are an incredible close-knit team. I get to watch people I regard as family keep competing, which is pretty good."

Geoff Lipshut, Chef De Mission of the Beijing 2022 Australian Winter Olympic Team, paid tribute to James' career and character.

"James is a model high performance athlete and student. He successfully balanced sport and studies and proudly represented his country at two Olympic Games," Mr Lipshut said.

"James has always been the nicest of nice guys in the mogul program and the best of teammates."

In an emotional night for Australia's moguls team, Taylah O'Neill also announced her retirement after a knee injury curtailed her capacity to compete in Beijing.

Mr Lipshut acknowledged the contribution the 27-year-old has made to Australian mogul skiing.

"Taylah is a credit to herself and sport. After skiing at the 2014 Games, Taylah had a run of injuries which saw her miss 2018, and another difficult injury journey to 2022.

"Taylah had always been a great teammate and contributor on and off the snow."

The attention now turns to the Jakara Anthony, Britt Cox and Sophie Ash in the women's moguls on Sunday. Sophie will hope to use qualifying at 9pm AEDT to join Jakara and Britt in the final from 10:30pm AEDT.

olympics.com.au
Damian Kelly