NSWIS mogul skiers have started 2026 impressively, with Jakara Anthony winning gold and Matt Graham claiming silver in Val St. Come, Canada. Their second consecutive dual podium finish propels both athletes into the coveted yellow leader’s bib ranked number one on the standings, the first time Australia has simultaneously held the top ranking in both men’s and women’s moguls.
 
Wet conditions with poor visibility impacted the competition, reducing the women’s event to a single run, while the men’s event was delayed for several hours before proceeding with qualifying and a one-run final.
 
Anthony opened with a commanding run, scoring 79.83 points to ultimately give her the victory with a margin of close to four points ahead of American Tess Johnson in second place with 75.85. Fellow American Olivia Giaccio rounded out the podium in third with 75.78.
 
With this victory, Anthony now boasts 25 career World Cup wins, matching aerial skiing legend Jacqui Cooper for the most by any Australian athlete.
 
In the men’s event, Matt Graham qualified for the finals in fifth place with a score of 81.22, joined by teammate Jackson Harvey in 15th on 74.39.
 
Graham delivered a strong performance in the final, boosting his score to 83.50 to secure the silver medal, marking the 29th podium of his career. Harvey achieved a personal best, finishing seventh with 80.24 points. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury claimed victory with 85.83, his 100th of his career, while American Nick Page rounded out the podium in third on 80.96.
 
“It was a different victory tonight, pretty weird competition day, but having put it down in qualifications worked out for me with finals cancelled,” said the 27-year-old Anthony-from Barwon Heads in Victoria.
 
“I find it pretty important to put down the best run that I can from round to round, with the goal to build throughout the day, so that’s just what I was out there doing.”
 
“Very exciting to be back in the yellow jersey, I haven’t worn that since the 2024-2025 season. Even more special to have Matt in the yellow jersey at the same time, I think that’s a first for Australia.”
 
Graham commented after his podium performance.
 
“Obviously a good day, really happy with the way I adapted given the conditions,” said the 31-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“It pretty much rained all day, with big delays before the qualification round. We had to sit around for two hours, and then buckle up to do the qualification round is always challenging, and at that point in time we were not sure if it would be a one run event or finals would happen, so had to lock in and put in a performance that would give me a good result.
 
“It was huge for Mikael Kingsbury to get his 100th World Cup win, I was glad I was able to share that moment with him, we have competed against each other for a long time and shared a lot of podiums together. Happy I have slowed him up from winning on three sperate occasions, but I am super happy for him and his family.
 
Also representing Australia were Charlotte Wilson, who narrowly missed the finals by just one spot in 17th, and Emma Bosco, finishing 27th. In the men’s competition, George Murphy placed 19th and Cooper Woods finished 21st.
 
Dual Mogul World Cup
The first dual moguls World Cup event of the season also took place in Val St Come, with Graham and Anthony both advancing to the quarter-final round. Graham finished fifth overall, while Anthony secured sixth place.
 
In other Australian results, Bosco placed 22nd and Wilson 27th in the women’s event. For the men, Woods finished 27th, Murphy 36th, and Harvey 46th.
 
The final World Cup events before the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games will take place in Waterville Valley, USA, featuring moguls on January 15 and dual moguls on January 16.

IMAGE
Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony celebrate their podium performances in Canada
© Kate Blamey

NSWIS mogul skiers Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham have launched their Olympic campaign in perfect fashion, claiming a double gold medal overnight at the FIS World Cup in Ruka, Finland.
 
The achievement marks the second time Anthony and Graham have secured dual victories, having previously done so in Deer Valley in 2023, and only the third time in Australian history. Graham also shared the top of the podium with Britt Cox in Calgary back in 2017.
 
For Anthony, the win signals a triumphant return to World Cup competition, coming in just her second start since a collarbone injury in Sweden 12 months ago ending her 2024–2025 season early.
 
In the first round of finals, Anthony placed second with 78.54 points, before lifting her performance in the super-final medal round to score 79.89, securing her 24th career World Cup victory. She finished ahead of Americans Olivia Giaccio (78.64) and Jaelin Kauf (78.08).
 
Jindabyne 20-year-old Charlotte Wilson also impressed, making finals on both days in Ruka, finishing 13th today with 66.63 points and was 16th on day one after not being able to complete her fin in the final.
 
“It’s pretty special,” said the 27-year-old Anthony from Barwon Heads in Victoria.
 
“It’s probably nearly a year to the day of getting injured. I’ve been out since then, so this is a pretty special one.” 
 
She also made the super final a day earlier but ended in sixth place after not completing her run.
 
“Yesterday was a bummer, just didn’t quite nail that last one,” she said. “To get some redemption tonight is pretty special. Took a few learnings about how the course developed. Been a while since I skied a comp, so I had to remember that, and make those adjustments tonight.” 
 
In the men’s competition, Matt Graham bounced back from a near-podium finish on day one in fourth place to deliver one of the finest performances of his career on day two. Graham dominated all three phases to claim his fifth World Cup victory and first-ever gold in Ruka.
 
Graham topped the qualification round with 79.43 points, led the first final with 81.97, and sealed the gold in the super-final with 81.72 points. He finished ahead of Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who scored 80.58, and Canada’s Julien Viel, who placed third with 79.30.
 
“It’s good to be putting down really good runs. The course was challenging, but really fun, and I’m just enjoying it,” said the 31-year-old Graham from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“To get a double gold with Jakara – it’s massive. We’re not a skiing nation. We’re a beach nation, so how the hell does this happen?” 
 
Also competing for Australia but missing finals were NSWIS teammates Jackson Harvey in 18th, Emma Bosco 20th with Cooper Woods and George Murphy unable to finish the course.

On the previous day Woods made finals in ninth, with Harvey 19th, Murphy 20th, Bosco 26th and Oliver Logan 26th, but was unable to compete on day two. 
 
The NSWIS team will remain in Ruka to continue training for a few more weeks, before the FIS World Cup tour shifts to North America in early January.

IMAGES COPYRIGHT CHRIS HOCKING

There is officially 100 days to go until the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, with Australia’s Moguls athletes this week returning to Brisbane’s world-class Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre, as part of the final training block ahead of Olympic qualification. 

While many of Australia’s Olympians and Olympic hopefuls are already overseas ahead of the start of the northern-hemisphere winter season, the Moguls team will depart Australia from next week for the last of the international competitions, with Olympic Team selection due to be finalised in late January. 

Australia’s Chef de Mission, Alisa Camplin-Warner was on hand to celebrate the milestone as well as see first hand how athlete preparations are tracking. 

“This is a very exciting moment in the lead up to the Milano Cortina Games. The vast majority of Australia’s winter athletes have either left or are about to leave the country, to enter the northern winter for pre-season training and competitions. 

“This final phase of readiness brings both anticipation and nerves. Every athlete is keen to get their best tricks, skills and strategy in place, before competing for vital quota places to qualify for Games selection.” said Ms Camplin-Warner.

“Seeing some of our athletes in action today, at our state-of-the-art training facility here in Brisbane fills me with pride. 
“We have an extremely hard working, focused and strong team, with some very experienced athletes setting the tone for a great Games.

“All going well in the competitive season ahead, this could be one of the largest, deepest and broadest Teams that we have ever sent to a Winter Olympic Games. I hope Australia will fully embrace the once in a generation magic that is this team.

“I wish all of our amazing and talented athletes the very best of luck for the season ahead, Australian’s everywhere can’t wait to see you in action, and I look forward to seeing you all in February at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games.”

Defending Olympic gold medallist, Jakara Anthony, is looking strong heading into the final 100 days, after making her way back from collarbone injury that she suffered during last year’s World Cup season. She said she’s excited to mark the 100 days to go milestone.

“I’m excited! The last three years have just flown by and it's been a bit of a mix of everything for me…a record breaking season in 2023/24 and then being injured and missing my first season last year. 

“Now 100 days out from the Games it’s pretty wild that it’s coming up so fast. But we’ve had some great training opportunities and we’ve got a lot more coming up along the qualifying period. So there’s lots more to happen between now and then but we’re all pretty ready for it,” she said. 

Triple Olympian Matt Graham, knows what it takes to be standing on the podium, taking the silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The 31 year old team veteran said the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre has helped take the Aussies to a new level.

“I’ve been in the sport for a long time now and to watch it evolve from training and jumping into a swamp down on the outskirts of Melbourne, to now training here at the Geoff Henke Winter Olympic Training Centre in Brisbane, it’s game changing for us. 

“We’re fortunate enough that our local resorts down in the Snowy Mountains help us a lot, we train primarily down in Perisher. They provide one of the longest and steepest courses in the world which we get access to eight weeks a year during our winter,” he said. 

For 20 year old Charlotte Wilson, her sights are firmly set on making her Olympic debut in Milano Cortina.  The new Olympic discipline of dual moguls is one she has quickly built a reputation as ‘one to watch’, winning gold at the Olympic Test Event in Livigno earlier this year. 

“That was a pretty crazy experience (the Livigno Test Event) - I wasn’t even supposed to be there and found out I was competing on the plane ride over there. I was just taking it all as an experience, to see the Olympic course and really gear up for the qualification period this year.

“The gold medal has also given me a lot of confidence heading into next year, I'm really excited. I’ll take that confidence of knowing where I’m at and knowing I can be competitive,” she said. 

Cooper Woods is on track to qualify for his second Olympic Games after making his debut at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.  He is excited for the opportunity to this time compete in front of family, friends and fans. 

“To have family and friends at the next Winter Olympics is going to be absolutely insane. I’ve only got one experience, and that’s at the Beijing Olympics and there was no one there except our staff and our team mates. As winter sports athletes it's very hard for our family and friends to travel the world.

“Also to have the European Training Centre in Verase as a base in the lead up to the Games, to have Aussies in the crowd is going to be amazing and I can’t wait for it,” he said. 

Alongside the men’s and women’s dual moguls making its Olympic debut in Milano Cortina, three more new events will also debut across existing sports including Skeleton Mixed Team, Luge Women’s Doubles  and Women’s Large Hill Ski Jumping.

A new sport on the schedule will be Ski Mountaineering (Ski Mo) with three new events - men’s sprint, women’s sprint and mixed team relay.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be held from 6-22 February in Milano Cortina.  For more information, click here. 

NSWIS skier Matt Graham has claimed Australia’s first medal at the 2025 FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships, winning bronze in a courageous performance in the iconic Swiss resort St Moritz, where three of the top four men suffered heavy crashes in a wild semi-final round of championship mogul skiing.
 
Graham now has five World Championship medals in his remarkable career, the most of any Australian winter sports athlete, surpassing snowboarder Scotty James, who will be aiming to join Graham on five podiums next week in St Moritz.
 
The opening event at the World Championships was the single moguls, where Graham showed he was in strong form advancing through to the top-eight super final. Graham was in contention for a medal, but a mistake just before the finish line saw the 2018 Olympic medallist finish in fifth place. Joining Graham in finals was NSWIS teammate Cooper Woods in ninth, missing the super-final by one place, George Murphy 22nd and Jackson Harvey was 28th.
 
In her World Championship debut, Charlotte Wilson qualified for the eight-woman medal round super final and finished seventh in her World Championship debut. Also on debut and just missing the final cut for top 20 was Emma Bosco.
 
In the dual moguls competition, Graham advanced through the early rounds with a 19-16 victory over Sweden's Robin Olgaard in the round of 16, followed by a 23-12 win against Mateo Jeannesson of Great Britain in the quarter-finals.
 
In the first semi-final, Graham went head-to-head with legendary Canadian skier Mikael Kingsbury in a thrilling duel. Both athletes pushed themselves to the absolute limit, but just before the bottom jump, Graham lost a ski at high speed, causing him to cartwheel down the course. After this setback, Kingsbury advanced to the big final and Graham to the small final and the opportunity for the bronze medal.
 
The second semi-final saw Japan's Ikuma Hiroshima and Sweden's Filip Gravenfors both crash heavily across the finish line, Hiroshima was the skier to advance to the gold medal match up but was injured and unable to compete further.
 
In the small final, Graham's opponent Gravenfors pushed out of the start gate but could not continue due his semi-final crash, Graham completed the course in a solo run to claim the bronze medal, while Hiroshima's withdrawal from the final race off duel gave Kingsbury the gold medal.
 
“It was probably one of the hardest earned podiums of my career” said the 30-year-old Graham from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“After a big crash last week in Livigno and not knowing if I would be able to compete, to keep skiing the way I did today and get down the run, then having a big crash in the semi-final against Mikael rattled everything a little bit. Fortunately, I was able to ski to the bronze medal.”
 
“It’s a good way to cap off the season, it’s been long, lots of ups and downs, my third dual podium for the year is unreal, and also another “Dad Podium”, this time at the World Championships is pretty special with Ikuma and Mikael. I hope both Ikuma and Filip are ok from their crashes.”
 
“The course was challenging, it was icy at the start of the day, and consequently the top air landing and first five turns got trashed. On paper the course wasn’t that tricky but there were a few little technical elements to it.”
 
“Heading into the small-final I didn’t know what state Filip was in. He is a crazy duals skier, I was in a lot of pain myself and just wanted to get down the run and be in one piece, so I was just willing to ski my run and whatever happened, happened. I didn’t realise he was inured or sore, it wasn’t until I landed the top jump, and I couldn’t hear him or sense him that I knew I was in the clear, but I didn’t realise he pushed out and slipped his way down the course.”
 
“Our team is really close, they are my second family, also having my mum and dad here was special, it was a little bittersweet given the circumstances, and I was in shock to be honest when I crossed the line, so I broke down a little and got a bit emotional.”
 
Also competing for Australia in the final event of the moguls skiing competition season were Cooper Woods in eighth place, Charlotte Wilson 15th, Emma Bosco 17th, Jackson Harvey 18th and George Murphy 23rd.

Mogul skier Charlotte Wilson has stunned the FIS World Cup circuit, claiming her first career victory in the dual mogul’s event on the site of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, next February.

Wilson sets the record for the fewest amount of starts by an Australian mogul skier to win World Cup gold, in just her tenth start of her rookie season competing at the highest level. Wilson is only the third Australian female mogul skier to win a World Cup event, following in the footsteps of World Champion Britt Cox and Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony.

Just a day after she was named FIS World Cup Mogul Skiing Rookie of the Year and placed eighth in the single moguls competition, the NSWIS skier started the dual moguls strongly, defeating world number four Canadian Maia Schwinghammer 18 to 17 in the round of 32. Next, Wilson defeated world number three Rino Yanagimoto of Japan in the quarter-finals 23 to 12 to set up a semi-final matchup with 2018 Olympic Champion and world number two Perrine Lafont of France.

In the semi-final, Wilson won a close dual against the French champion 18-17, to advance to the gold medal dual with current world number one Jaelin Kauf of the USA.

Wilson continued her incredible form against the American, winning 22-13 for the first podium and victory of her career.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, this is an incredible day and an incredible feeling. I spoke earlier about wanting that momentum from yesterday to carry on and I really think it did today” said the 20-year-old from the NSW Snowy Mountains.

“I was just trying to do my run today, blinkers on and put down the best run I could, I knew I would have to really push the speed today and I obviously managed to do that.

“It’s a good confidence boost leading into next year, top-10 yesterday and a win today, the next 11 months are going to be tough and hard work, but I really like the venue and next year is going to be awesome.”

In the men’s event Cooper Woods had his best finish of the season finishing in fifth place, pushing Olympic gold medallist and World Cup wins record holder Mikael Kingsbury in his quarter-final, beating the Canadian across the line, but a stumble cost him on the last turn and the judges awarded the win to Kingsbury 22-13.

Olympic medallist Matt Graham was unable to compete in the dual moguls after a crash the day prior in the single moguls super-final. Graham went to hospital for precautionary scans which came back negative for any damage.

Graham was in great form before the crash, qualifying for finals in third place, and in the first round of finals finished fifth to advance to the six man super-final. Graham was unable to complete his super-final run, he finished sixth overall.

Graham recovered well from the crash and plans to compete in his seventh FIS World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland, the final event of the season.

The moguls event in St Moritz will take place on March 19 and dual moguls on March 21.

Joining Graham, Woods and Wilson in St Moritz will be Jackson Harvey, George Murphy, Jakara Anthony (TBC), Emma Bosco, and Lottie Lodge.

NSWIS skier Matt Graham has claimed the 27th World Cup podium of his career in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after capturing bronze in the dual moguls.
 
The 2018 Olympic silver medallist, Graham, shared a historic moment with fellow skiers Mikael Kingsbury and Ikuma Horishima on the first ever mogul skiing “dad podium,” as all three medallists became first time fathers just prior to the 2024-2025 season.
 
In the match up for the bronze medal, Graham defeated Korean Daeyoon Jung 22 to 13, his second dual mogul podium of the season. Canadian Mikael Kingsbury was victorious 21-14 in the gold medal dual over Ikuma Horishima of Japan.
 
“It’s great to be back on the podium. We have been knocking on the door to have the dad podium all season. Two times we have finished 1-2-4, so to get 1-2-3 is pretty awesome,” said the 30-year-old Graham from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“I was feeling the pressure a little at the top, it was running through my head, but I had to tell myself to land the top air, ski a run and let it happen from there in the final dual.
 
“I am really fit and healthy at the moment, the body is feeling great, so I am looking forward to going to Livigno and checking out the (2026 Olympic) course there and then finishing off at the World Championships (in St Moritz).
 
NSWIS teammate Cooper Woods also performed well finishing in seventh place, after losing to eventual winner Kingsbury in the quarter-finals, while teammates Jackson Harvey was 19th, George Murphy 21st and Oliver Logan 34th.
 
With two World Cup events remaining, Matt Graham is ranked third overall in the combined mogul standings, sixth in single moguls and fourth in dual moguls.
 
Both final World Cup events of the season will take place at the 2026 Olympic venue in Livigno, Italy, with moguls on March 11 and dual moguls on March 12.

NSWIS 2018 Olympic medallist Matt Graham has continued his strong form, just missing the podium in the moguls event with a fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Beidahu, China. Graham also had a second top-10 in the dual moguls on day two of competition, placing sixth.
 
Graham and NSWIS teammate Cooper Woods both qualified for finals in second and eighth place, scoring 78.66 and 76.70 points respectively.
 
In the first round of finals, Graham stepped up his run to score 81.41, placing him through to his first super-final of the season in fifth. Unfortunately Woods was unable to progress finishing 16th.
 
Graham stepped it up again in the super-final, this time scoring 83.65, to fall just short of the podium by 0.14 points.
 
In first place was Ikuma Horishima of Japan, 86.57, Canadian Mikael Kingsbury was second on 85.91 and Filip Gravenfors of Sweden third with 83.79.
 
NSWIS skiers George Murphy was 30th, Jackson Harvey is his return from injury34th and Oliver Logan 36th.
 
Dual Moguls: Quarter-Finals for Graham
Graham advanced through to the quarter-final round in the dual moguls, finishing in sixth.
 
Graham had victories over Korean Yoonseung Lee in the round of 32 and Canadian Sam Cordell in the round of 16 to set up a quarter final match against Nick Page of the USA.
 
In a close quarter final duel, Graham unfortunately lost to the American 20 to 15.
 
Fellow NSWIS skiers Cooper Woods and Jackson Harvey both made it through to the round of 32, finishing in 17th and 32nd place respectively, George Murphy was 39th and Oliver Logan 40th in the round of 64.
 
Finish skier Severi Vierela claimed his first career victory, Horishima was second and Viel of Canada third.
 
With double World Cup events remaining in Almaty, Kazakhstan (February 28 and March 1), and the Olympic test event in Livigno, Italy (March 11 and 12), Graham is currently ranked sixth in single moguls, fourth in dual moguls and fourth overall on the combined Mogul standings.

Matt Graham flying down the China bumps
© Taro Tampo

Olympic medallist Matt Graham has skied to the 26th World Cup podium of his impressive career, following a silver medal performance in the dual moguls in Waterville Valley, USA.
 
Graham showed great form throughout the day, making his way through the earlier rounds with ease before winning difficult match ups against Frenchman Benjamin Cavet in the quarter finals 20 to 15, and a super close semi-final victory over Ikuma Horishima of Japan 18 to 17.
 
In the big final Graham faced legendary Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, and in a close duel right to the finish line Kingsbury prevailed 21 to 14, extending his record for the most ever wins for a freestyle skier to 94. Rounding out the podium in third place was Filip Gravenfors of Sweden who defeated Horishima for the bronze.
 
“It is nice to be on the podium for the first time this season” said the 30-year-old Graham from the NSW Central Coast.
 
“Duals is always a long challenging day, a lot of top-to-bottoms at crazy fast speeds, at the start of the day I was just happy to get through to the finals, and once they came around it was just full send from there.
 
“I have felt like all of the pieces have been there, but it just hasn’t stuck yet, making a few mistakes in the previous events, so it was nice to have some solid skiing today, especially this week after battling the flu and bedridden two days ago with chronic fevers and still feeling under the weather yesterday was pretty rewarding.”
 
Also in action were fellow NSWIS skiers  Oliver Logan in 27th, Cooper Woods 30th, Edward Hill 32nd, George Murphy 35th and women Charlotte Wilson 18th, Lottie Lodge 31st, Lucy Pernice 34th and Emma Bosco 35th.
 
Next weekend the mogul skiers compete at the World Cup event in Val St.Come, Canada, with moguls on February 1 and dual moguls February 2.

19-year-old NSWIS skier Charlotte Wilson has skied to an impressive fifth place in just her third World Cup start in Waterville Valley, USA, the birthplace of freestyle skiing.
 
Wilson qualified for finals in sixth place with a score of 71.51 points, and in the first round of finals improved to score 71.87 and remain in sixth place, which advanced her to the first World Cup super-final of her career.
 
In the top-six super-final, Wilson improved again with a faster run which scored 73.88, to give her a fifth pace personal best result.
 
In the men’s event NSWIS teammates Matt Graham and Cooper Woods both qualified for finals in fifth and tenth place respectively. In finals, Graham was unlucky not to make the super-final finishing in eighth place, with Woods 13th.
 
In the qualification round George Murphy was 32nd, and Oliver Logan 57th. Making their World Cup debut’s Lottie Lodge was 23rd, Emma Bosco 27th, Lucy Pernice 40th, Edward Hill 56th, and Xanthia Coote did not finish.

The final mogul skiing World Cup events of the calendar year took place in Bakuriani, Georgia, where Olympic silver medallist Matt Graham led the way finishing in seventh place in the single moguls and sixth in the dual moguls.
 
Competing on a challenging 280m long course with an average pitch of 28 degrees, the NSWIS skier qualified for finals in second place, with his teammate Cooper Woods also joining him in the 16-man-final in 11th place. Oliver Logan missed finals in 32nd place.
 
In finals, Graham just fell short of advancing to the six-man super final in seventh place with a score of 77.97, missing out by only 0.20 points. Woods finished 15th in the final after scoring 68.33.
 
Victory in the single moguls went to Benjamin Cavet of France, with Mikael Kingsbury of Canada in second and Finish skier Severi Vierela in third.
 
In the dual moguls event in Bakuriani, Graham was again the highest placed Australian, this time finishing in sixth place after making it through to the quarter-final round.
 
Graham had wins against Kosuke Sugimonto of Japan (23 to 12) in the round of 32, Robin Olgaard of Sweden (20 to 15) in the round of 16 setting up a quarter-final round showdown against day one winner Benjamon Cavet of France.
 
Unfortunately Graham lost to the Frenchman 21 to 14, giving hm a final ranking of sixth, with his NSWIS teammates Cooper Woods 34th and Oliver Logan 36th.
 
The winner of the dual moguls event was Walter Wallberg of Sweden, Cavet of France in second, and another Swede Filip Gravenfors in third.
 
No female skiers represented Australia in Bakuriani, with Olympic gold medalist Jakara Anthony out injured, and Charlotte Wilson returning to Australia as planned. Wilson will rejoin the World Cup circuit at the next stop in Waterville Valley, USA, on January 24-25.

Matt Graham (left) vs Benjamin Cavet (right) in a closely contested quarter-final
© FIS Freestyle

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 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.

Australian mogul skier Jakara Anthony has continued her unstoppable start to the 2023-2024 FIS World Cup season, recording her sixth victory overnight in the final event of the calendar year in Bakuriani, Georgia.

Anthony’s start to the season is by far the best by any Australian wintersports athlete, winning a medal in all seven events this season, which includes six victories and a bronze medal.

The 2022 Olympic Champion has now has 14 career World Cup gold medals, moving her closer to legendary Australian mogul skier Dale Begg-Smith’s 18 career victories.

Anthony moved through the dual mogul rounds with ease, with her closest race coming in the semi-final stage against American Jaelin, Kauf. Earlier in the season Kauf had denied Anthony a win in the dual mogul event in Idre Fjall, Sweden, but this time Anthony advanced to the gold medal dual matchup with a score of 20 points to 15.

In the big final, Anthony easily won against Canadian Maia Schwinghammer with a score of 35-0, after Schwinghammer crashed out after the top air.

“It was an awesome day out here for duals, and to go on the podium with Jaelin and Maia,” said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“Jaelin is renowned for her speed, so to finally get one on her on that, and to see Maia get her first podium was awesome to be a part of.”

In the men’s event, 2022 Olympian Cooper Woods finished in seventh, his best dual mogul result of the season to date, losing his dual against eventual event winner Mikael Kingsbury of Canada, 14 points to 21.

The mogul skiing World Cup tour is on break until the third week of January, with the first event of 2024 scheduled to take place in Val St. Come, Canada, on January 19 and 20.

Jakara Anthony made it a double gold medal celebration in Alpe d’Huez, winning her first dual mogul event of the season, the 12th World Cup victory of her impressive career.

Anthony cruised through the early rounds of the event to set up a semi-final matchup against Tess Johnson of the USA. Anthony won convincingly with a score of 31-4 to advance to the big-final.

In the big final, Anthony faced another American, Olivia Giaccio, and in a much closer dual Anthony prevailed with a score of 20-15.

“It’s super exciting to go back-to-back at this event again, I did it a couple of years ago, but missed the first place in the duals last year, so to get a little redemption is nice” said the NSWIS skier.

In the men’s event Cooper Woods finished in 15th, Oliver Logan 44th and George Murphy 46th.

Anthony and Woods will now compete in the final World Cup of the year at Bakuriani, Georgia, in single and dual mogul competitions on December 22 and 23.

NSWIS mogul skier Jakara Anthony has continued her incredible start to the 2023-2024 FIS World Cup season, with a third consecutive victory in the single mogul event, recording the 11th win of her career in Alpe d’Huez, France.

The 2022 Olympic champion was very impressive, leading from start to finish and moving through all three rounds of the competition in first place, matching the feat from the previous two World Cup events this season.

In the events three year history at Alpe d’Huez, Anthony has never lost in the single moguls event at the iconic French Alps resort, which is also world famous for its gruelling mountain climb stage in the Tour de France.

Anthony scored 79.98 points In the super-final medal round to finish 4.34 points of second place finished Jaelen Kauf of the USA on 75.64 points with her American teammate Olivia Giaccio in third with a score of 74.82.

“Can’t ask for much more than that, leading from round-to-round again, so always nice to be rewarded for that,“ said the 25-year-old from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“I was pretty nervous out there today, so I am pretty happy just to put down three solid runs, get through each round, and have another crack at doing what I am out here today.”

In the men’s event Cooper Woods made hist first top-six super final of the season, laying it all on the line but unfortunately skiing out of the course and around a control gate to record a did not finish, giving him a final ranking of sixth place. George Murphy was 22nd in qualifying with Oliver Logan recording a did not finish.

The first World Cup dual mogul event of the season took place in Idre Fjall, with Jakara Anthony taking home yet another medal, this time a bronze in the duals.

The NSWIS skier moved through the rounds of 32, 16 and 8 with ease to advance through to the semi-final round against Jaelin Kauf of the USA.

In a hotly contested matchup, Anthony was narrowly defeated with a score of 15-20 in the American's favour, leaving Anthony to duel in the final round for third place.

In the small final, Anthony easily recorded her third medal of the season, out duelling Hinako Tomitaka of Japan 29-6.
Kauf went on to take the win, defeating Japanese skier Rino Yanagimoto with a score of 26 points to 9.

Cooper Woods was again the highest place NSWIS male skier finishing in 17th, with teammates George Murphy 40th and Oliver Logan 44th.

The mogul team now heads to Alpe d'Huez France, for the next round of World Cup competition on December 15-16.

Jakara Anthony has started the 2023-2024 FIS World Cup season in incredible form, winning consecutive events within six days after recording the tenth World Cup victory of her career in Idre Fjäll, Sweden.

The NSWIS skier was dominant, leading from start to finish, again moving through all three rounds of the competition in first place, replicating the effort from the opening event in Ruka, Finland.

In the super-final medal round, Anthony put down a commanding run to score 79.74 points, finishing a huge 7.32 points higher than second place finisher Rino Yanagimoto of Japan on 72.42, with American Olivia Giaccio in third with 72.16.

“It’s a pretty cool way to kick off the season, winning the first event and then backing up here“ said the 25-year-old Olympic champion from Barwon Heads in Victoria.

“We have another five starts before Christmas, so looking to keep carrying that momentum moving forward.”

“It’s going to be exciting with dual moguls coming up tomorrow, speed will be important in there, it’s easy to get stuck in the face of the bumps and slow down. I think it’s always important for duals to be fast but always good execution as well so I will go out and do my best.”

In the men’s event, NSWIS skier Cooper Woods made it through to finals for the second week in a row, finishing in ninth place, with his teammate Oliver Logan achieving a personal best result of 33rd but George Murphy unfortunately recorded a did not finish.

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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