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.

Australian mogul skier Matt Graham has bounced back from a disappointing result in yesterday’s World Championship single moguls to claim the silver medal in the dual moguls overnight in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
 
The 26-year-old from the NSW Central Coast performed well on the difficult course to advance through each round of the event to reach the final dual for first place against 2018 Olympic Champion Mikael Kingsbury of Canada.
 
In a very close head to head race, Graham pushed Kingsbury all the way, but had trouble landing his bottom jump and stumbled over the finish line to give Kingsbury the victory.
 
For Graham, the podium performance is the second World Championship medal of his career, having taken home silver at Deer Valley, USA, in 2019.
 
Rounding out the podium in third place was Ikuma Horishima of Japan.
 
“It felt great to get some redemption after yesterday's performance. I was very disappointed with my performance in the single mogul event, so I used that as a bit of motivation for duals” said Graham the 2018 Olympic silver medallist.
 
“The course was very challenging today. The moguls were quite firm and big, so it was easy to make mistakes, especially when you are pushing the speed to the limit. I didn't ski as well as I should have or can, but I knew my opponent was likely to be making mistakes as well, so I just had to grit my teeth through each round and make it to the finish line.”
 
The mogul skiers will remain in Almaty for the World Cup final which will take place on March 14.
 
Graham will be aiming to become the first Australian male to win the World Cup Crystal Globe title since the legendary Dale Begg-Smith in 2010.
 
“I will approach the World Cup Finals as I do every event. I am currently leading the standings for the overall title and Crystal Globe, but the point are very tight in the top four and anyone can win.”
 
Graham sits in first place on the standings with 289 points, followed by Frenchman Benjamin Cavet on 271 points, Ludavig Fjallstrom of Sweden with 258 points and Ikuma Horishima of Japan on 246 points.

NSWIS mogul skier Matt Graham has made it three consecutive podiums with back to back medals at the World Cup event in Deer Valley, USA, claiming the silver medal in the dual moguls on day two, after bronze in the single moguls 24 hours earlier.

The result moves Graham into first place on the World Cup standings, the first time an Australian male mogul skier has had the yellow leader bib since the legendary Dale Begg-Smith in 2010.
 
The 26-year-old from the NSW Central Coast moved through the earlier rounds of the event with ease to advance to the dual for first place against 2018 Olympic Champion Mikael Kingsbury of Canada.
 
In a very close head to head race in snowy conditions, Graham just fell short with Kingsbury taking the win with a score of 20 to 15 points. Rounding out the podium in third place was Benjamin Cavet of France.
 
“Feels great to get the silver here in Deer Valley after yesterday’s bronze”, Graham said after collecting his third medal of the season.
 
“It was a tough day today, I think all the boys where a bit sore after yesterday’s event, so we really had to dig deep.
 
“It’s a great feeling to go into the last World Cup event of the season wearing the yellow leaders bib.”
 
With one World Cup competition left in the schedule, a dual mogul event in Kazakstan on March 14, Graham sits in first place on the standings with 289 points. Behind Graham in the standings is Frenchman Benjamin Cavet on 271 points, Ludavig Fjallstrom of Sweden with 258 points and Ikuma Horishima of Japan on 246 points.
 
Graham’s teammate Brodie Summers is in fifth on the standings after finishing eighth for the second time in Deer Valley, his fifth top-10 of the season.

In the women's standings, Jakara Anthony sits in eighth place, after finishing in 11th place in the dual moguls.

Other Australian results included Britt Cox in 16th, Cooper Woods-Topalovic 19th place, Sophie Ash 30th and James Matheson in 31st

The mogul team will now train in Ruka, Finland, preparing for the World Championships which will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with single moguls on March 8 and dual moguls on March 9. The World Cup final will take place at the same location on March 14.

IMAGE: World number one's Matt Graham and Perrine Laffont of France.

Australian Institute of Sport/NSW Institute of Sport mogul skier Britt Cox advanced to the final with the fourth highest qualification score and ended the World Cup in Lake Placid, USA, today in ninth place.

Making today’s 16-woman final means that Cox, 19, has appeared in a final at each World Cup this season.

However, Cox’s score in the first final was 74.26, which was unfortunately not high enough to make the second final, which decided medals.

The event was won by American Hannah Kearney, second was Yulia Galysheva from Kazakhstan with third going to Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe.

Brodie Summers, another AIS/NSWIS athlete, was Australia’s best male, finishing 18th, an equal best for the season, but unfortunately he missed the cut for the final.

Canadian Alex Bilodeau took out the event ahead of Americans Patrick Deneen in second and Bradley Wilson in third.

In other results with AIS/NSWIS skiers, Matt Graham was 22nd, Sam Hall was 35th, Nicole Parks was 19th while Dale Begg-Smith was rested. NSWIS athlete Taylah-Paige O’Neill was 28th.

Nineteen-year-old mogul skier Britt Cox achieved her second World Cup super-final appearance from four starts this season when she delivered a strong performance to finish sixth in front of 10,000 spectators attending the second World Cup event in Deer Valley, UT, USA.

Competing under lights, the Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete was pressing for a medal in the final round against the day’s other top five athletes when Cox was unable to land her second jump cleanly on the famous Deer Valley Champion Run, which limited her scoring ability.

American Hannah Kearney gave the huge and vocal crowd something to cheer for by taking top honours ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva in second, while Canadian Maxime Dufour-Lapointe was third.

With her parents and brother among the crowd, Cox was impressive all day, with eighth place in the qualification session and a fifth place in the first final, which qualified her for one of the six super-final positions up for grabs.

While Cox led the Australian charge, fellow squad member Nicole Parks also experienced a day to be proud of when she ended the event in 11th, an equal personal best in World Cup competition.

In men’s results, AIS / NSWIS scholarship holder Matt Graham was the best Australian, finishing in eighth, with his AIS team-mate Dale Begg-Smith in twelfth.

AIS mogul skiing program head coach Steve Desovich said that the squad is experiencing a “tight and intense period” as they begin their preparation for their third event in six days.

“It is challenging and the guys have to be prepared for it,” Desovich said.

“They have to be able to adapt and respond although the whole field has to also so it’s no different for us.”

As well as Cox’s solid result, Desovich added that he was very impressed with Graham’s performance.

“I was very pleased that Matt was able to bump it up a notch compared with the day before, in what I believe was a very nice run.”

In other results with Australians competing at Deer Valley, Sam Hall was 27th, James Matheson was 38th and Brodie Summers was 47th, while Taylah O’Neill was 19th.

AIS Mogul skier Dale Begg-Smith posted his second top-10 World Cup finish from three starts this season with another finals appearance in Deer Valley, USA.

After more than three years away from competition before starting his comeback in December, Begg-Smith was Australia’s best performer among the seven-member mogul ski squad with a ninth place.

Begg-Smith was unlucky not to reach the six-man super-final, after putting down what appeared to be the highest quality turns of the field in the first final.

In the women’s competition, AIS / NSWIS athlete Britt Cox also added to her consistent season with a 12th place after advancing to the final with the ninth best score in the qualification session.

In other Australian results, Taylah O’Neill was 28th, Nicole Parks 34th, Matt Graham 20th, Brodie Summers 49th, James Matheson 61st and Sam Hall did not finish his qualification run.

Australia’s mogul skiing squad had a solid day at the Calgary World Cup in Canada, with four athletes qualifying for finals.

The leading performance came from AIS / NSWIS athlete Britt Cox, who placed seventh, narrowly missing the top six super final.

Her seventh place result means that Cox maintains her world ranking of four.

Fellow AIS / NSWIS athlete Nicole Parks had the best day of her career, recording a personal best 11th place finish and has lifted her ranking from 30 after the first World Cup of the season to currently sit in 20th spot.

In the men's event, AIS / NSWIS athlete Dale Begg-Smith was the best placed of the Australians finishing 12th, with Matt Graham, another AIS / NSWIS scholarship holder, was 13th. The two had exactly the same score, but were separated on a countback.

The women's World Cup was won by Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe, with American Hannah Kearney second and another Canadian Chloe Dufour-Lapointe in third.

Canadian Mikael Kingsbury took the win from compatriot Alex Bilodeau and American Patrick Deneen in third.

Other Australian results in the 1988 Olympic Winter Games host city, held in minus 18 degrees Celsius, saw NSWIS skier Taylah-Paige O’Neill finish 22nd and AIS / NSWIS athletes Brodie Summers 29th and Sam Hall 40th.

AIS mogul skiing program head coach Steve Desovich was impressed by the speed down the steep challenging course by Cox.

Cox is benefitting from working tirelessly on strength and conditioning during the off season and in the event she was the second fastest woman on the course.

“It was a slightly above average day but we’ll definitely have to build on it,” Desovich said.

“Britt had a very good run in the first final and actually I was pretty impressed with the run.

“Her speed was very encouraging.”

Australia’s seven member mogul skiing squad will compete in a World Cup in Calgary, Canada, on Sunday (Australian time).

Teenage Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athletes Britt Cox and Matt Graham go into the event after finishing fourth in the first event of the season in Ruka, Finland, in December.

However, Cox and Graham will not be the only points of interest in the Aussie squad.

Australia’s most successful winter Olympian, Dale Begg-Smith, is competing for only the second time since 2010.

Begg-Smith demonstrated his enormous talent in Ruka by finishing in fifth, which was highly impressive given his lengthy absence from competition.

Fellow AIS / NSWIS athletes Nicole Parks, Brodie Summers, Sam Hall and NSWIS skier Taylah O’Neill are all approaching the busy competition schedule, five World Cup events in 16 days, with a high level of confidence.

The squad has been training at the Colorado resort of Steamboat in the United States since competing in Finland.

Australia’s mogul ski squad has had close to a best ever start to a World Cup season with three athletes narrowly missing a podium finish in Ruka, Finland, today.

Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport teenagers Britt Cox and Matt Graham both finished in fourth place, while Australia’s most successful Olympian Dale Begg-Smith made an excellent return to international competition after a three year break with a fifth place.

Nineteen-year-old Cox was fantastic from the first run of the day when, for the first time in her World Cup career, she won the qualification round by outpointing American Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney with a performance highlighted by the equal top score for turns and the fastest time down the challenging Ruka course.

Cox continued her strong showing in the first final, for the top 16 qualifiers, by finishing the round in second place, just 0.44 points behind Japanese veteran Aiko Uemura, to advance to the six women final.

Despite another impressive run in the final she was outpointed by Kearney, the eventual winner, with Canada’s Justine Dufour Lapointe in second place and Uemura in the bronze medal place.

Graham, who finished behind the winning Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, second placed Canadian Alex Bilodeau and Japan’s Sho Endo, fought hard from 10th place in the qualification session to sit in fourth after the first final, a position he held on to in the medal round.

Cox said that her achievements today were not a surprise and believes hard work, which included 15 weeks of strength and conditioning work with the AIS together with John Marsden and Jamie Youngson, has brought about the result.

“I’m not too surprised because it has definitely been a goal of mine to be skiing like I am at the moment,” Cox said.

“I’m not surprised but happy things are starting to come together and building the skills which I’m working on each week.

“This is definitely a confidence booster given that this is the first World Cup of an Olympic season.
“The quality of skiing is going to be really high. We noticed today that all the girls are bringing their A-game.

“Being fourth is so close to the podium and there is a little of the feeling that it was right there within my reach but finishing fourth is something that will make me more determined and to build upon.

“Having a great result in qualifying and finishing fourth has shown me what I’m capable of.”

Another thought which is adding to Cox’s positive outlook is the prospect of heading to Steamboat, in the United States, along with other squad members, for further training.

Cox will pay particular attention to her jumps, which she believes was the difference between third and fourth today, and to enjoy Christmas with her family, the first time she has had that opportunity since she was 13-years-old.

Mogul Olympic gold and silver medalist Dale Begg-Smith has made a solid start to this year's World Cup with a performance highlighted by well executed turns and jumps in Ruka, Finland, last night.

The four-time World Cup champion recorded a sixth place in the season opener, with American Patrick Deneen, Canadian Mikael Kingsbury and Frenchman Guilbaut Colas finishing in the first three positions respectively.

Skiing in -12 degrees Celsius, the Australian was 1.66 seconds slower down the 215-metre course compared with Deneen, which appeared to be the difference between Begg-Smith and the first three places

While AIS Head Coach Steve Desovich conceded that Begg-Smith needs to find additional speed for the next round in Meribel, France next Wednesday, he and Begg-Smith were reasonably happy with the season opening performance.

"He had really well executed turns and solid jumps, but he's not yet up to full speed this early in the season," Desovich said.

"The lack of speed was perhaps more of a course specific thing. There were a few issues down the course where it was a problem to go very fast.

"As the year progresses we'll be on courses where he will feel more comfortable and speed will improve."

It is not unusual for AIS scholarship holder to have a slower start to the season. The opening rounds of the last three seasons have seen him finish fourth, tenth and sixth.

However, slow starts have not been an impediment, shown by his series winning performances in recent years.

OWI Head Moguls skiing Coach Steve Desovich reports from Switzerland at the conclusion of a two week training camp for the World Cup moguls team:

"The OWI mogul skiing team enjoyed some vigorous and quality training in Zermatt. Zermatt features a competition style course at over 3000 metres altitude, and most of the international teams attend at one time or another during the month of October."

"The team skied a total of 12 ski days and, despite numerous weather day closures, benefitted from the intense environment provided by a host of international teams all training the same course."

"Dale Begg-Smith continues to progress nicely from knee surgery. Dale is skiing and jumping with confidence and continues to gain physical strength by the week."

"Ramone Cooper is mostly healthy now and therefore made gains in all areas. Ramone has showed great promise in turns, speed and his jumping. In Ruka later this month he will look to put all these aspects together in a whole run package."

Sam Hall adapted nicely to the altitude and intensity of training and by the second half of the camp was faring very well on an overall basis."

The team heads to Finland later this month to resume training, and will then compete in the opening two events of the season in Suomo, Finland, on December 12 and Meribel, France, on December 16.

Dale Begg-Smith has joined French mogul skiing legend Edgar Grospiron as the greatest World Cup champion of all time after wrapping up his fourth title in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

The Vancouver 2010 silver medallist picked up another silver in the final event of the season to cap off a remarkable comeback from injury.

The AIS skier won three events for the season and also collected another three silver medals to post a season score of 693 points, 78 points clear of French skier Guilbaut Colas.

The 25-year-old's ability to claim another World Cup title, just fourteen months after major knee surgery, has amazed AIS Head Mogul Skiing Coach Steve Desovich.

"For Dale to come back and do what he has is extraordinary," Desovich said.

"If you adjust your perspective to last year, February 6, when he was having surgery, and someone said that these were the results he was going to get I don't think any one of us would have believed it - we would have been ecstatic."

"He did very well today. He skied well within himself and skied a typical Dale run, very clean, he did the jumps well, had some good turns and just executed it very well."

"It's a great tribute to Dale that he's very smart and he manages risk masterfully - he's so good in that way. And you have to salute him for being so consistent over time."

"He's won four World Cups in five years, and Edgar (Grospiron) did the same thing in the same way. He won three then had a year off with a knee injury and came back in the fifth year and won again."

"Dale is proud of his achievements in the sport - I mean he's earned everything possible and he's very pleased with his ability to be consistent over time.

He he has now qualified for 48 straight finals, which is incredible - I don't know if that's a record or not, but I would presume it is."

The fourth World Cup title sees Begg-Smith eclipse the performances of two other stars of the sport, Canadian Jean-Luc Brassard and Finnish skier Janne Lahtela, both of whom won three World Cup titles.

He also has Torino Olympic gold, a world championship title and two other world championship medals in his trophy cabinet.

The final event of the World Cup snowboard cross is also underway in La Molina, Italy, with Alex "Chumpy" Pullin following up last weekend's maiden victory by qualifying in second place.

Dale Begg-Smith has completed the pre-Olympic World Cup mogul skiing season with yet another podium, claiming silver in Lake Placid.

The AIS mogul skier collected 25.95 points from the judges to finish behind Guilbaut Colas on 26.51, the second consecutive time the Frenchman has edged out the Torino 2006 Olympic champion.

Both skiers were rated equally on turns, earning 14.2 out of a possible 15 points, but Colas was the quickest down the New York State course.

Swede Jesper Bjoernlund took the bronze medal with 25.44 points, while Begg-Smith's AIS team-mate Sam Hall finished in 39th place on 19.85 points.

"Dale skied very well today, excellent technically and in clear control with strong jumps, and he was fast," said Olympic Winter Institute CEO Geoff Lipshut.

"All in all it was a very good day. Dale qualified in third, and had great feel throughout the event."

"A few days' recovery and then the pre-Olympic training camp comes at a good time for Dale, after five World Cup events in just under two weeks."

Begg-Smith leads the World Cup standings on 555 points from Bjoernlund on 412, while Colas, who missed the first two events of the season, is in third position on 370 points.

Australia's mogul skiing star Dale Begg-Smith has continued his sparkling form, claiming the silver medal in the second of two World Cup events in Deer Valley, Utah.

The AIS 24-year-old took things easy in the qualifying round, finishing in sixth place, but then stepped it up in the final to make his fourth podium in a row.

Following the event, Begg-Smith donated his second place prize money to the Haitian relief effort.

"I'm glad to be able to make this donation to the Haitian relief effort," Begg-Smith said.

"The devastation and trauma that these people have endured is horrific."

"Hopefully we can collectively band together as a society to help in the recovery efforts."

French skier Guilbaut Colas collected the Deer Valley victory, his first for the season, with 26.80 points, 0.59 points ahead of the Australian.

Defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada rounded out the minor medals on 25.95 points.

"Dale was quite conservative in qualifying," said Olympic Winter Institute CEO Geoff Lipshut.

"Then he put down a very good run in the final after swapping lanes just before it."

"He was very fast, very clean, and it was a great effort to get second. It just shows his great adaptability."

The result stretched Begg-Smith's lead on the World Cup standings, his 475 points putting him 123 clear of nearest rival, Jesper Bjoernlund of Sweden.

Colas, who looms as a serious medal threat in Vancouver after claiming silver in the opening Deer Valley event, is in third place, despite missing the season's opening two World Cups.

NSWIS athlete Matt Graham was in 27th position, an impressive pb performance in just his second World Cup appearance, while Begg-Smith's AIS team-mate Sam Hall finished in 35th place.

NSWIS skiers David Graham and Hugh Norton were in 38th and 53rd places respectively.

In the women's event, 15-year-old NSWIS skier Britteny Cox was also impressive, finishing in 29th place in her second World Cup event.

Team-mate Sarah Melville was two places further back, while Nicole Parks (33rd), Roanna Humphries (34th) and Taylah O'Neill (42nd) were also in action.

Dale Begg-Smith has continued his remarkable Vancouver preparation, winning a third straight moguls skiing World Cup event.

Competing in the first of two events scheduled on the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic course in Deer Valley, Begg-Smith lifted his performance level once again, scoring 26.42 points from the judges, 0.64 ahead of silver medallist Guilbaut Colas of France on 25.48 points.

Dmitry Reiherd of Kazakhstan collected the bronze medal with 25.10 points.

Begg-Smith was in awesome form, collecting the highest turns score, the second best jump points and recording the second fastest time down the Utah course that put him out of last season's World Cup with a leg injury.

"Dale is really solid at the moment," said OWI team physiotherapist Peter Hogg.

"And he's doing a good job of maintaining his health in the process."

"As of right now, everything is going really well."

On the World Cup standings, Begg-Smith has now amassed 395 points from his five events, 69 points clear of his nearest rival, Swedish skier Jesper Bjoernlund, gold medallist in the opening two events of the season.

Defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau is in third place on 205 points, after finishing in 39th place.

Missing from the Deer Valley action was Australia's number two mogul skier Ramone Cooper, ruled out of the event and out of the Vancouver 2010 Games following a major knee injury sustained in training the previous day.

The Perisher Blue 21-year-old had started the season with a ninth placing, the second top ten of his career, and was looking forward to a strong performance at the Games.

"I was holding onto a glimmer of hope that it was not as bad as first thought," Cooper said.

"But the MRI results show a torn PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), partial MCL (medial collateral ligament) tear, a partial lateral meniscus tear, another tear on something I'm not sure of, and bone bruising."

"I'm extremely devastated."

Fellow AIS skier Sam Hall finished in 40th place on 19.68 points, while NSWIS athletes Matt Graham, David Graham and Hugh Norton filled 41st, 48th and 56th place respectively.

NSWIS female mogul skiers were also in the Deer Valley line-up, with Nicole Parks producing the best result, a 31st placing, one spot ahead of Sarah Melville.

Britteny Cox was in 34th position, Taylah O'Neill 38th and Roanna Humphries 41st.

Dale Begg-Smith has skied to his second World Cup victory in two days, reclaiming the world number one ranking in the process.

The Torino 2006 Olympic champion delivered an outstanding performance, posting the highest turns score and racing down the Calgary course in 21.90 seconds, half a second ahead of any of the other 16 finalists.

He was also rated third for his jumps.

Begg-Smith collected 25.25 points from the judges, 0.55 ahead of defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada.

Russia's Alexandr Smyshlyaev took the bronze on 24.42 points.

"That was a great performance today," said Olympic Winter Institute CEO Geoff Lipshut.

"He had fantastic speed and to be able to come back to top line like this less than 12 months after major surgery is just a wonderful effort."

The back-to back victories now have the AIS skier at the top of the world rankings, a position he occupied for three consecutive years before injuring his knee in January 2009.

Begg-Smith has amassed 295 points from the season's four events, 14 points ahead of Sweden's Jesper Bjoernlund.

Bilodeau is in third position on 205 points.

Begg-Smith's AIS team-mate Ramone Cooper struggled with some lower leg soreness and placed 27th while World Cup rookie Sam Hall finished in 32nd position.

Dale Begg-Smith has successfully completed the first step in his comeback from injury, finishing in fourth place in the opening mogul skiing World Cup event of the season in Soumu, then backing up for fifth place in the second event on the Finnish course.

Competing for the first time since January 2009, the Torino Olympics gold medallist earned 24.13 points from the judges in the opening event to finish just 0.06 off the podium and 0.28 points away from a gold medal.

He also demonstrated that he was back near his best by leading the points score for turns, his strongest suit.

AIS/OWI team-mate Ramone Cooper finished in ninth position on 23.48 points, claiming the second top ten result of his career, while Australia's third competitor, Sam Hall, had a disappointing day, finishing in 55th place on 12.39 points.

Begg-Smith started the second day even more impressively, qualifying in second place behind defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau before taking fifth place in the final with 24.47 points, once again less than 0.5 off the gold

Cooper could not repeat his top ten placing of the opening event, finishing in 26th position on 21.90 points, while Sam Hall was back in 44th place with 17.30 points.

Sweden's Jesper Bjornlund, never higher than fifth in a World Cup before, was the star of the weekend, collecting back-to-back gold medals.

Almost as impressively, US skier Bryon Wilson also made his first podium, taking silver in the opening event then repeating the effort on the second day.

The third and fourth events of the season will be held in Calgary, Canada, from January 8-10.

Dale Begg-Smith has successfully completed the first step in his comeback from injury, finishing in fourth place in the opening mogul skiing World Cup event of the season in Soumu, Finland.

Competing for the first time since January 2010, the Torino Olympics gold medallist earned 24.13 points from the judges to finish just 0.28 points off the gold medal and 0.06 out of bronze.

AIS/OWI team-mate Ramone Cooper finished in ninth position on 23.48 points, claiming the second top ten result of his career.

Sweden's Jesper Bjornlund collected the gold medal, and his first podium, with 24.42 points.

US skier Bryon Wilson also made his first podium, taking silver on 24.34 points, while defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada rounded out the top three on 24.19 points.

Begg-Smith showed he was back near his best by leading the points score for turns, but Australia's third competitor, Sam Hall, had a disappointing day, finishing in 55th place on 12.39 points.

A second World Cup will be held tonight at the Finnish resort.