With only three weeks until the Opening Ceremony of PyeongChang 2018, the final Olympic qualification Moguls World Cup kicks off in Tremblant, Canada this weekend.

Matt Graham will lead the charge for Australia, fresh off a bronze medal from last week’s Deer Valley World Cup.
With four podium finishes (three bronze and one silver) from five starts this season, Graham’s coach Steve Desovich, is pleased with the progress he is making this Olympic season.

“Matt has done a superb job in most of the events this season getting a handle on his speed and managing his run accordingly,” Desovich said.

"The aims for Matt are to achieve a number of top to bottom simulations in the two days of training beforehand, thereby placing him in a position to perform well in the event itself."

The current world number three will be joined by his Aussie teammates James Matheson, Rohan Chapman-Davies and Cooper Woods-Tapolovic.

Currently ranked 14th in the world, young-gun Jakara Anthony will headline the women’s team in Canada while current world number three Britt Cox attends a pre-Games training camp.

"Britt will not partake in the Tremblant event but will instead engage in a strength and conditioning camp to increase her physical capacities and recovery before Korea,” Desovich said.

19-year-old Anthony made her first Super Final last week at the first Deer Valley World Cup, finishing fifth overall. She has also recorded three top-20 performances this season and will look to carry that strong form in the final world cup before the Winter Olympics.

Joining Anthony on the course will be Sophie Ash, Claudia Gueli, Madii Himbury, Taylah O’Neill and Krystle Yin.

21-year-old Ash has already qualified for two small finals this year, in what is her debut World Cup season.

Teammate Gueli has also recorded a career-best result this year, finishing 10th at the Calgary World Cup in early January. 

The Tremblant Moguls World Cup kicks off at 1.30pm local time (5.30am AEDT Sunday 21st). Watch the finals live in Eurosport from 7.30am AEDT Sunday morning and follow the results online HERE.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

A nasty stomach virus, which required a hospital admission on Tuesday night, did not keep mogul skier Matt Graham from reaching his fourth podium in the second World Cup events in Deer Valley, Utah today.
 
Graham picked up the bronze medal behind Canada’s Mikhail Kingsbury and Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Reikherd, repeating a photo that has seen the three same men on the podium together in Calgary and Thaiwoo this season.  
 
Yesterday’s first World Cup saw a brave Graham put mind over matter to make the final 16 before bowing out of the first round of Finals in 13th. Another 24 hours was all it took for the world number three to sufficiently recover and deliver another consistent run.
 
“Coming from Calgary I picked up a pretty bad stomach virus on travel day and for the last few days I’ve been in the wars,” Graham said after being hospitalised for three hours on Tuesday night for intravenous treatment. 
 
“A lot of people of people telling me to take it easy and take the day off,” he said of the first World Cup. “I listened to my body and knew what I could do.”
 
“Yesterday in the start gate in the final, I had a big pain in my tummy and it took very ounce of resilience. I did make a mistake on the last jump.” 
 
“(Today) I was in a lot of pain, but it was better this afternoon. I wasn’t sure if I was going to compete until thirty minutes before the event. I mustered the energy.”
 
“The top guys had a great run too and to be up against those guys was special given the circumstance.  It was the icing on the cake.”
 
“For sure it’s worth it now,” he said.
 
“We have a week off now and I can recover then come out firing in the final event in Tremblant (Canada) before PyeonChang.”
 
World Champion Britt Cox has faced stiff competition this season and did so again today, coming away with a fourth place in the second Deer Valley World Cup after missing the Super Final yesterday.
 
Undeterred, Cox says she on track and feeling good.
 
“Really close to the podium tonight so I’m happy with my skiing but there’s definitely more in the tank and more that I need to do but happy to be in the mix in the super final tonight,” she said.
 
“I’m happy that I progressed through the rounds today - skied better in each round and my skiing is moving in a positive direction. I’m determined that I’m focussed on doing the work that needs to be done.”
 
Jakara Anthony, who reached her first Super Final yesterday placing 5th overall was again in good form today, qualifying into the top 16 and then coming 12th.
 
Other Australian results today included Taylah O’Neill placing 17th in the qualifying in an unlucky tie break situation to not make the final 16, Claudia Gueli 26th, Madii Himbury 36th, Krystle Yin 38th and Sophie Ash 48th. In the Men, James Matheson placed 44th, Cooper Woods-Topalovic 48th and Rohan Chapman-Davies DNF.
 
The final World Cup before the PyeongChang Games will be held in Tremblant, Canada on January 20th.
 
Belinda Noonan
OWIA

Gold for Britt Cox and bronze for Matt Graham provided Australia with two appearances on the podium on Saturday following the first Moguls World Cup of the year in Calgary, Canada.
 
It’s the second time in less than 12-months that Cox has won gold at Calgary and the World Champion said that she was absolutely “stoked” to be back doing what she loves, especially now that she’s back in the yellow bib and leading the pack.
 
“So happy with today, I just feel so lucky to be doing what I love every single day and to finish today in Calgary on top of the podium feels even better,” she said.
 
“It feels great to start the first World Cup of the year with a gold and I just want to keep the momentum moving and progressing my skiing week-to week.”
 
The 23-year-old added that she was “happy to come out here and turn things around in Calgary” after some mistakes  at the last Moguls World Cup in Thaiwoo China during December.
 
Fellow Aussie and Sochi Olympian Matt Graham claimed bronze after a fantastic run in the men’s Super Final, finishing alongside Canadian Mikael Kingsbury who won gold and Dimitry Reikherd from Kazakhstan in second place.
 
“Definitely came here pretty hungry coming off two podiums in China, I was keen to get up there again,” he said.
 
“After having a successful year last year, it was definitely motivating to come back and do well again. Overall I was pretty happy with my two final runs, I just made small mistakes and my bottom air and location sof the landings were slightly off which I think cost me a higher step on the podium.
 
“I think I had some good energy today and harnessed a good mental state … [I’m] stoked to come away with a podium and for Britty to get up there on the top step where she belongs was pretty awesome.”

Graham’s fellow Aussies weren’t able to make it to the 16-man final, with James Matheson finishing 24th, Rohan Chapman-Davies 30th  and rookie Cooper Woods-Topalovic 39th.
 
Cox however was joined in the first final of the day by Claudia Gueli and Sophie Ash who both finished in the top 15. Both skied to career best restuls, Gueli finished 10th while Ash was 14th.
 
The next destination for the Aussie mogul skiers is Deer Valley, USA, with the next World Cup kicking off this Wednesday.
 
“We have a really quick turnaround this week, but I love Deer Valley,” Cox said.
 
“I love the course and we also have a lot of Aussies coming there to support us including my mum, dad and brother so really excited to see them and to get back on Champion Course.”
 
“We trained hard in the offseason, put in a lot of work,” added Graham.
 
“As long as my bags arrive I’ll be fine!”


David Barden
​OWIA

Australia’s top mogul skiers have touched down in Calgary, Canada ahead of their third World Cup of the season.
 
Following a well-deserved break after competing in China just before Christmas, the Aussies
jumped straight back into their preparations as the PyeongChang Winter Games edge closer.
 
“The team spent the break period in Winter Park, Colorado in camp recovering, strength and conditioning on snow for four days,” coach Steve Desovich said.
 
Matt Graham heads into the third World Cup of the season after back-to-back podium finishes at China’s Thaiwoo Ski resort, claiming silver on Day 1 and taking bronze just 24 hours later.
 
After a bumpy start to the season for Australia’s male mogul skiers in Ruka, Finland, the 23-year-old previously said that he was “really happy” with the way he had bounced back.
 
NSWIS athletes Rohan Chapman-Davies and James Matheson also made impressive comebacks in Thaiwoo after failing to make it past qualifications at the season opener.
 
Matheson finished in the top 10 taking 7th place in a big personal best on Day 1, while Chapman-Davies was also a PB in 13th and rookie Cooper Woods-Topalovic finished inside the top 30 for the first time.
 
The second day of competition also saw 2017 World Champion and Crystal Globe winner Britt Cox deliver a solid performance placing fourth after an uncharacteristic mistake on Day 1 prevented her from progressing to the finals.
 
“While the initial recovery period was quite strenuous Britt and Matt have managed to get up to par mid-way through,” Desovich said.
 
“As we arrive now into Calgary we will have two days of training on a very challenging course with women’s qualifications taking place on January 5th and the finals for both men and women on January 6th.”
 
The third FIS Moguls World Cup will be held in Calgary, Canada on 6 January. You can keep up-to-date with the results HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE for live reporting from the event.
 
David Barden
OWIA

Matt Graham has made his Mogul Skiing World Cup career medal haul an even dozen taking bronze in Thaiwoo, China today just 24 hours since he won silver on the same course.

Graham finished fourth in the qualification round of 64 men with 78.88 points, then upped his game in the first final with 80.92 points, placing fifth and making it into the final six. 

Again, Graham found more in the medal round – scoring 82.96 in a burning run, which landed him on the podium for the second time in two days.

"I think today went really well actually,” Graham said after the medal presentations.
 
“I felt a little better this morning, had a good sleep last night. Kind of came out firing in the qualification run and put down a run that I was really happy with."

"Pretty solid run in the final 1 round - slightly drifted my jumps though, which cost me a little bit so I was going into the Super Final in fifth place and I really had to put it all on the line and not make any mistakes.”
 
“To come away with back to back podiums here in Thaiwoo is pretty awesome and I'm just really happy with the way I bounced back after the first event in Ruka."
 
"The stats are nice but at the end of the day we've got bigger things coming up - so we've just got to focus on each day and trying to get better."

The day undoubtedly belonged to Canadian World number 1, Mikael Kinsgbury who won gold yesterday and again today with a blistering run scoring 85.94. Silver went to Dmirty Reikard from Kazakhstan. 

NSWIS athletes Rohan Chapman-Davies and James Matheson both missed out on the 16-man final, placing 20th and 32nd respectively during qualifications. A fall by Cooper Woods-Topalovic during the qualification run relegated the 17-year-old  to 58th place.

2017 World Champion and Crystal Globe winner Britt Cox rebounded from yesterday’s place and disappointment by progressing to the Super Final and finishing 4th.  

“I’m really happy to turn things around after some mistakes yesterday and get back up there and be able to ski in the Super Final again,” an upbeat Cox said today.

“I definitely feel like there’s some work to do but happy with the result today.”

“Yesterday I had some good training in the morning but made some mistakes in my qualification run so that really cost me and it meant that I had to go home early and didn’t get to ski in the finals, which was quite disappointing for me.”

“But the team did really well as a whole yesterday for Australia and the team vibes were really positive, so I chose to draw on that energy and put everything into competing well today and having a more solid performance.”

“That’s the beauty of having a two-day event where you do have an opportunity the next day and you don’t have to wait for the next week,” Cox said.  

The Australian mogul skiers will head to North America for Christmas, but will continue to train.

“We will have a break over Christmas and New Year’s and spend time training in Colorado. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to making some adjustments before the first World Cup of the new year in Calgary.

Sochi Olympian Taylah O’Neill, placed 17th in the qualifier, missing the by just 0.10 points behind South Korean Jung Hwa Seo.  Jakara Anthony finished 21st, Claudia Gueli 23rd and Krystle Yin 28th. Madii Himbury wasn’t far behind taking 32nd place while Sophie Ash finished 33rd in a field of 48 women.  

David Barden/Belinda Noonan
OWIA

Matt Graham has claimed silver in the second Mogul Skiing World Cup of the season at China’s Thaiwoo resort, a location earmarked to host several medal events in the 2022 Olympic Games.
 
It’s the second time the 23-year-old has stepped up onto the podium at Thaiwoo in less than twelve months, claiming bronze at the resort in February this year.
 
After his 11th World Cup podium finish, the Sochi Olympian said that he was “really happy to bounce back and put a couple of good runs down” on Thursday after a bumpy start to the season in Ruka, Finland.
 
“To get back up on the podium is definitely something I really wanted and I’m very happy,” he said.
 
“I didn’t start off the season the way I wanted to in Ruka so I’ve been itching to get back into the start gate fort he past two weeks and today didn’t go exactly the way I wanted to. The qualification was pretty rusty and training this morning was quite difficult.
 
“The way I came out and handled myself in the finals and put down two solid final runs – you can’t ask for too much more than that after how I was skiing this morning.”
 
Coming in first, World Number One Mikael Kingsbruy won gold for the third time at the Chinese resort while American Troy Murphy earned Bronze.
 
With no less than 50 days until the PyeongChang Winter Games, Graham said that his main goal is to “hopefully walk away with many more podiums this season and try and peak at the Games”.
 
“There’s still a long way to go, today’s 50 days out to the Olympics so that means it’s coming up quick and there’s still al ot of work I need to do and a lot of screws and bolts that I need to tighten between now and Pyeongchang,” he said.
 
“I’ve just got to maximise every day and try and put run after run down.”
 
NSWIS athletes Rohan Chapman-Davies and James Matheson also made impressive comebacks in Thaiwoo after no Aussie men made it past qualifications in Ruka.
 
Matheson finished in the top 10 taking 7th place in a big personal best, while Chapman-Davies was also a PB in 13th and rookie Cooper Woods-Topalovic finished inside the top 30 for the first time.
 
As the only Australian woman to make it through to the finals on Thursday, Jakara Anthony finished 14th and is itching for Day 2 of the competition.
 
“It was pretty good, it was nice to have made finals at the first two events,” she said.
 
“I’m skiing pretty consistently at the moment which is good for the start of the season. We’ve got an early start tomorrow but hopefully I can do something similar, maybe even something a little bit better than today.”
 
World Champion Britt Cox made an uncharacteristic mistake at the bottom of the course and missed finals action in 25th place.
 
Unable to also secure a spot in the 16-woman final, Claudia Gueli finished 19th, and Madii Himbury, finished 26th. Sochi Olympian Taylah O’Neill finished 31st while 21-year-old Sophie Ash was 32nd and unfortunately, Krystle Yin did not finish.
 
Day Two of the World Cup kicks off on Friday before the Aussies get a well deserved break ahead of their next competition in Calgary, Canada early in 2018.
 
“I’m pretty keen to kick these boots off and go inside, lay down – I’m pretty sore and tired,” Graham said.
 
“Tomorrow’s a new day, I’ll get as much rest as I can tonight and muster up as much energy as I can for tomorrow and put my heart and soul into it. [Then] we’ve got a little Christmas break coming up so that’ll be nice.”

Dave Barden
OWIA
 

Australia’s top mogul skiers are set to start their official training in Thaiwoo, China on Tuesday ahead of back-to-back events at their second World Cup of the season this week.
 
While the weather in Thaiwoo – like nearby Secret -- has been far from ideal, coach Steve Desovich said that the Australians had nonetheless had a productive “pre-training camp hosted by the resort on the actual competition mogul course”.
 
“Conditions have been challenging but productive enabling Britt Cox and Matt Graham the opportunity to focus on ongoing skills as well as line selection,” he said.
 
Cox is set to compete in Thaiwoo after winning gold in a six-woman Super Final at the 2017/18 World Cup season opener in Ruka, Finland last week.
 
The 23-year-old World Champion described the result at the time as “awesome” particularly as it was on the very same mountain that she had won her first World Cup a year ago.
 
“We are thrilled with Britt’s performance in Ruka but engaged in the present of an ongoing skill acquisition and course adaptation,” Desovich said.
 
“The course here, like any new course, presents a variety of challenges and issues to work on.”
 
For Sochi Olympian Matt Graham, Ruka wasn’t an ideal start to the season with the 23-year-old crashing his second jump after “getting a little out of control in the middle section of the course”.
 
“The qualifications were pretty wild in the men’s field as the course deteriorated during the training session which made a lot of competitors make mistakes,” he said at the time.
 
Nevertheless, Desovich said that things are looking up for Graham ahead of this week’s event.
 
“Matt has done some really nice things in the pre-event training in Thaiwoo,” he said.
 
“We look forward now to the official training on December 19 and 20 before back-to-back events on December 21 and 22.”
 
The second FIS Moguls World Cup will run from the 21 – 22 December. You can keep up-to-date with results HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE for live reporting from the event.
 
David Barden
OWIA

2017 World Champion mogul skier Britt Cox has picked up right where she left off, winning gold in the 2017/18 World Cup season opener in Ruka, Finland.

On the same mountain she won her first World Cup a year ago, Cox topped the qualification round with a score of 77.47, and again in the first final with a score of 82.24, before securing the victory in the six-woman Super Final with a score of 80.32.

The 2017 Crystal Globe winner was ecstatic to be on top of the podium for the opening event of the Winter Olympic qualification period.

“Oh, it feels awesome to put that result down first event of the season,” the 23-year-old said.

“I got my first ever World Cup win here at Ruka a year ago, so taking the win feels awesome.

“And it being an Olympic season it’s obviously very exciting, that’s the pinnacle event of the season and everyone’s motivated.”

After Cox’s top challenger and world number two, Frenchman Perrine Lafont, skied out of her line in the Super Final costing her a podium spot, Canada’s Audrey Robichaud won silver on 77.73 and Russia’s Marika Pertakhiya rounded out the podium on 74.59.

The Australian Mogul Skiing Team have been in Ruka for the past couple of weeks on a pre-competition training camp, but Cox said today’s race conditions were not what they were expecting.

“Fresh snow overnight meant that the course was soft which was a lot a lot of fun, [but] we had a lot of wind and the course was quite different to what we’ve been training on.

“I made the fine tuning and tweaks I needed to run-to-run and it ended up working well for me in the end.”

The majority of the Australian NSWIS female mogul skiing contingent finished in the top-half of the field, with Jakara Anthony the next best place female, placing 12th in the first final with a score of 73.50.

Madii Himbury just missed a spot on the 16-woman final, finishing 17th with 69.42. Claudia Gueli finished 21st, Sochi Olympian Taylah O’Neill was 23rd and Krystle Yin placed 25th. Sophie Ash unfortunately crashed out in her first run and did not finish.

“Lucky for me, this wasn’t the big show this season so I can learn from today and make some changes moving forward.”

It was a bumpy start for the Australia’s male mogul skiers, with no one making it past the qualification rounds. Rohan Chapman-Davies was the top placed Aussie in 43rd, followed by Cooper Woods-Topalovic in 44th and Matt Graham in 46th.

“Today didn’t go as I planned,” Sochi Olympian Graham said after the event. “I crashed my second jump after getting a little out of control in the middle section of the course.

“The qualifications were pretty wild in the men’s field as the course deteriorated during the training session which made a lot of competitors make mistakes.

World Number one Mikael Kingsbury held true to form to top the men’s event, followed by the Kazakhstan duo of Dmitriy Reikherd and Pavel Kolmakov in second and third respectively.

The Australian team now make their way to China for the Thaiwoo World Cup kicking off on the 16th of December.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Australia’s top mogul skiers are strapping in their skis for the final push towards PyeongChang with the World Cup season kicking off in Ruka, Finland on Saturday.

2017 World Champion Britt Cox will lead the charge for Australia in hope of defending her first ever World Cup victory, which she won on the very same mountain 363 days ago (read more about Cox’s preparations here >>>).

Fellow Sochi Olympian and current World number three, Matt Graham won silver in Ruka last year and will be determined for another podium finish this time around.

Cox, Graham and the rest of the Australian Moguls Team have been in Ruka for over a week now, making the most of time time on snow in the pre-comp period before the official World Cup training kicked off on Thursday.

“We achieved 10-11 days on snow with Britt and Matt working separate components of their turns and jumps while also merging them into whole runs,” Australian Moguls Head Coach Steve Desovich said.

“Both Britt and Matt have had some nice moments in training while also understanding that the whole package with all the skills is very much an on going process.

“Both skiers have engaged in their efforts in their physical preparation as well with John Marsden and Will Morgan (Physio) piloting those efforts on behalf of the program.

“We are also fortunate to have our performance psych Dr. Tom Hammond on hand to continue with his integration into our program operation with his curriculum,” Desovich said.

Joining Cox on the start line include fellow PyeongChang hopefuls Jakara Anthony (OWIA) and NSWIS athletes Sophie Ash, Claudia Gueli, Madii Himbury, Krystle Yin and Sochi Olympian Taylah O’Neill.

Alongside Graham in the men’s event will be his Aussie teammates Rohan Chapman-Davies, James Matheson and Cooper Woods-Topalovic.

Sochi Olympian Brodie Summers is missing from the start list as he continues to recover from a knee reconstruction earlier in the year. The world number six is still aiming to qualify for the PyeongChang Games, but will leave his run for a few more weeks to maximize his knee recovery.

"The course here in Ruka is always very challenging and therefore each skier needs to know their parameters and be able to produce on demand with little mystery,” Desovich said.

The event in Ruka marks the start of the five World Cup circuit where athletes will accumulate points to secure a quota for their country at next year’s Winter Olympics.

Qualification kicks off on Saturday night (AEDT) with both the men’s and women’s finals to take place early Sunday morning.

Geogia Thompson
olympics.com.au

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Total Image Group (TIG) last week unveiled the official formal uniforms to be worn by the Australian Olympic Team at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

On hand to model the new uniforms were some of Australia’s best winter athletes including Olympic silver medallist David Morris, World Champion Britt Cox and Sochi 2014 Olympians Danielle Scott, Matt Graham and Jarryd Hughes.
Total Image are an Australian owned group and Official Supplier of the 2018 Team’s formal uniform who specialise in designing fashion forward, fit for purpose uniforms.

“These uniforms have a true Australian look about them,” said Australian Olympic Committee, CEO Matt Carroll.
“We are particularly excited to welcome the Total Image Group on board as an official supplier and thank them for their support of the 2018 Olympic Team.”

With the days ticking away until the 2018 Games, Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said the Team is progressing well and the unveiling of the formal uniforms is another milestone on the path to PyeongChang.

“I think the athletes are really going to love the look of these uniforms,” said 2018 Chef de Mission, Ian Chesterman.
“They’re youthful and exciting, while still maintaining a strong Australian feel that each and every Team member can wear with immense pride.

The uniforms, which include blazers with the names of every Australian Winter Olympian on the inside lining, feature a modern colour palette with Navy and darker tones complimenting traditional green and gold to represent an overall winter feel.

“Having the names of past Winter Olympians adds a special touch on this uniform and one that will mean a lot to the athletes. It continues a tradition that was started at the London 2012 Games.”

“Receiving your Australian Olympic formal uniform should be an exciting experience for all of our Team members and I think TIG has created pieces that will facilitate that.”

The suits which will be worn at all Team functions are made from 100% Australian Merino wool fabric and are complimented by brass buttons embossed with the Olympic crest, creating a classic yet contemporary Australian feel.
 
XTM will provide the 2018 Team with an array of competition-grade gloves, socks, baselayers and bags, as well as 100% Australian merino wool gloves to be worn with the formal uniform, in their fourth Games’ as an Official supplier.

TIG wanted to create a uniform that reflected a modern and fresh look that radiated team confidence with timeless tailored pieces made from the best Australian materials.

“It’s an honour to be chosen to dress the Australian Olympic Team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang,” said Total Image Group CEO Pamela Jabbour.

“The objective with the design was to focus on Winter tones and do something totally different whilst still strongly representing Australia. We are incredibly proud of the final result and can’t wait to see the athletes wearing our designs.”

Chesterman who will lead his sixth Team as Chef de Mission at a Winter Games also highlighted the importance of the athletes’ input during the design phase.

“I think it is crucial to have the athletes involved in the process of creating these formal uniforms. Their tick of approval really means everything. They are the ones that have spent years training to earn that blazer.”

Dual Olympian and 2017 Moguls World Champion, Britt Cox was one of five athletes that saw a sneak peak of the uniform at an outfitting session earlier this year.

“I was lucky enough to see the uniform in April and I knew right away I loved it,” Cox said.

“The Olympics are the pinnacle of our sporting careers, so being able to give our feedback on the formal uniform is really special.”

Cox hopes to represent Australia at her third Olympics and receiving an Olympic blazer is always a special experience.
“Even though this is my third Olympic uniform, it still feels as exciting as it did before the 2010 Vancouver Games,” the 23-year-old said.

“These uniforms are a symbol of years of hard work and dedication in our respective sports. Every time I put it on, I feel a great sense of pride for of accomplishments and for my country.”

Coming off Australia’s top Winter season to date with a total of 40 World Cup and World Championship medals as well as two World Championship titles, a Team of approximately 50 athletes will compete across 11 sports at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

PyeongChang will be the site of South Korea’s second Olympic Games having hosted the 1988 Summer Games in the capital Seoul and its first Winter Olympic Games.

More information on the PyeongChang 2018 Australian Olympic Winter Team can be found at olympics.com.au.

olympics.com.au

Matt Graham knows all about pressure and big events having stood on World Cup podiums ten times and the experience of the Sochi Olympics where he finished 7th.

There won’t be a stone unturned in his preparation for PyeongChang next February.

“Especially in an Olympic year,” Graham said of his training since April. “You want to be first and be ahead of the eight ball and that gives you an edge. As long as you perform well, which is what I’m after, you’re always going to happy no matter what the result is."

Being prepared is how the Australian mogul skiers go about their business.

“I guess Olympics is just another event and in other ways, it’s not. There’s so much more meaning behind it,” Graham said before leaving for a Swiss training camp last week.

Since Sochi Graham says he has changed and learned.

“Overall, I’ve matured. I can deal with pressure at a competition and its part of growing as an athlete - everyone goes through that stage. Everything is just enhanced.”

“The off season this year has been about filling the gaps. Olympics is the target. I put more pressure on myself and I get more out of it than just another event.”  

Last season began with a silver medal in Finland and in January this year Graham repeated his 2015/16 victory over Mikael Kingsbury in Calgary winning gold and making it an historic double act on the winner’s podium with team mate Britt Cox.

His outstanding results also included two bronze medals (Taiwoo, China and Tazawako, China – dual moguls) and two fourth place finishes.

Graham’s view of last season following the World Championships in Spain brings mixed emotions.

“The way I look at it (last season), it was up and down – a roller coaster. There were a few wins and Calgary was the highlight,” he said. “It was very special for Britt and me. We are basically family.”

“Worlds was an anti-climax. In hind-sight I was bummed about last season and know I have to work harder to go after the next level.”

The level of comradery between the Australian mogul team members is well known.

“There’s no discord. It comes with the culture we have built. We all started out in similar fashions at the club level,” he explained.

“We get to travel the world with our best friends as teammates and we take pride in that and push each other along.”

Coaches Steve ‘Des’ Desovich and Jerry Grossi meticulously plan each season and an Olympic preparation is no different.  

“They’ve been involved in my career for a long time now. They’ve got a lot of tech expertise in acrobatics and I’m quite certain we have the best coaching staff in the world. They are unique and they want the most out of us day in and day out.”

The domestic season for the current World number three has already included a record breaking and historic sixth ABOM Mogul Challenge victory at Mt Buller in early September.

Prior to the ABOM, Graham won one of the two National Championships events in Perisher, beating ‘King’ Kingsbury but ceded the overall title to the Canadian on the second day.

Is the spectre of toppling the Canadian two-time World Champion, Olympic silver medallist and record holder for most World Cups won now less daunting for Graham?  

“Yes and no. He’s getting better every day but he’s got competition now. It’s remarkable what he’s achieved and as a good friend I look up to him in a lot of ways, but I’m obviously trying to chase him and close the gap. In the last few years I’ve definitely closed that. I’ve now got a winning package,” Graham said.

“At Perisher I out skied him on day one of competition and that’s something that was on his mind and I know he feels a bit threatened by me. But he has a serious mental game on him. He’s consistent.”

Graham is focussing on himself rather than Kingsbury.

“It’s an individual sport. It comes down to each run and how I execute my run. I know for sure that when he is struggling it gets to him and vice versa. It goes both ways - that’s for sure.”

Following the domestic season, Graham headed to the AIS for the altitude house with fellow mogul skier Rohan Chapman-Davies, Snowboard Cross’ Adam Lambert and Ski Cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim.

“This period is a time where we could focus on strength and conditioning and get on top of it. We were effectively living at 3,000 metres before the mogul team go into camp at Zermatt in Switzerland with a high intensity conditioning focus. We are training to prepare for training!”

The Central Coast native, already a seasoned, experienced world competitor will celebrate his 23rd birthday on October 23. He credits his younger sailing days on Brisbane Waters for honing his competitive skills.   

“What’s not to miss on the coast?” he asked.  “The water is great. The surf or, on the lake if it’s windy enough for a sail.”
As a young teenager Graham competed in sailing winning four national and six state titles in the junior class.  

“Sailing gave me a taste for gold. Definitely. As a youngster, I was pretty dominant and I didn’t cope with losing then. Sailing taught me that. Now, I want to get used to winning again.”

“I’m really enjoying the sport, competing and travelling and I’m really hungry.”

“There are seven World Cups between now and the Games. It’s exciting as an athlete in Australia.”

 “We’ve had our greatest year ever in winter sports. Moguls have obviously done well and then we watch everyone out there crushing it week in and week out, read the news of another medal and when we read it, it pushes you.”

The Mogul Skiing World Cups begin in Ruka, Finland on December 9.

To see previous news about Matt Graham or check out his profile, click here
 
 
 
 

MOGULS: She'll head into next year's Winter Olympics as one of Australia's medal contenders but Britt Cox says she's relishing having a target on her back.

Cox will take part in her first big event of the domestic ski season at the Australian Moguls Championships at Perisher on Tuesday.

Already a two-time Winter Olympian by the time she was 19, Cox hadn't won a World Cup event up until last season.
But she went from bit player to dominant performer in 2016/17, winning the first event of the season in Finland and going on to secure another six victories as well as the world championship title in Spain.

"This time it is different again. Going in as world number one and then world champion I definitely have a huge target on my back," she said.

"But when I ask myself in what position I would rather be in I think that this is exactly where I want to be.

"It shows me that the training I am doing is going in the right direction and I look forward to going in with that target on my back."

The Australian Championships field has a strong international flavour with the likes of World Cup winners Mikaela Matthews (United States) and Maxime Dufour-Lapoint (Canada) slated to compete.

Meanwhile Australian men's hope Matt Graham will face off against the likes of six-time World Cup champion Mikael Kingsbury (Canada).

Graham admits being in awe of Kingsbury who is regarded as the greatest moguls skier of all time.

"He's an incredible athlete," says Graham. "I put him up with the greatest sports people of all time. He is a Roger Federer, a Le Bron James, a Michael Jordan. He has changed the sport and is on the next level."

After finishing second overall in the 2015/16 season Graham had hoped to challenge Kingsbury regularly in 2016/17 but admitted falling short despite a World Cup victory amongst his four podium finishes.

"I was really gunning to be up against Mick in a lot of events but I felt that I didn't really achieve that goal. In hindsight it has definitely motivated me more to work harder this year."

The men's competition also features regular podium finisher Phillippe Marquis from Canada and last season's overall runner-up Benjamin Cavet from France.


AAP

They may be a little weary from the week-in week-out competing, travelling, training and resting on the FIS Mogul Skiing World Cup tour this season but the Australians are staying on top of their game in a spectacular season that has created history.
 
Britt Cox became the first Australian female to win a Mogul Skiing World Cup title last week in Japan and Matt Graham won a bronze medal, but now their focus is on the last two World Cups in Thaiwoo, China before the World Championships in Spain on March 8 and 9.
 
Juggling the athletes’ regime is the responsibility of coaches Steve ‘Des’ Desovich and Jerry Grossi.  
 
"With Britt, the focus remains on rest and recovery ahead of the event in China this week,” Coach Desovich explained.
 
“We have had a rigorous schedule leading to the normal travel fatigue so that is a primary challenge right now.
 
“Britt has done so well this season due to her attention to detail and being able to execute what she needs to do when she needs to do it. First in training then transferring to the event, " he said.
 
Training in China will be about learning the course, continuing with skill development and execution.

The Australian coaches have consistently maintained their focus on skill and execution – a plan that has also kept Matt Graham in podium contention throughout the season and boosted  results for  Brodie Summers.
 
Leading into China, Graham is in third position in the overall World Cup standings – and trails second position by 47 points. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury – like Britt Cox – has already secured the overall Crystal Globe as number one.
 
"Matt has had some real highlights this season which we are quite happy with,” Desovich said.
 
“The near misses that have transpired are just a reminder of which skills need further enhancement and really getting all the ingredients correct in the three sectors of our sport which are jumps, turns and speed.”
 
“He has some exciting opportunities left in the season and we look forward to the next day of training in China which is the next step required to execute at the highest level more consistently."  
 
Brodie Summers has had a much improved 2016/17 season delivering three top ten World Cup results including a bronze in Dual Moguls at Deer Valley.
 
"Brodie has done a nice job this season on many levels. Jerry and I are quite pleased with his work right from April onwards where he has been able to experience some nice growth across the board,” Coach Desovich said.
 
“As per usual, the focus will remain on skiing and jumping better while also preparing for the specifics of the course simultaneously. Brodie needs to continue to put himself in a position to succeed by completing his training runs along with lifting the quality of his skills while doing so."  

The Thaiwoo, China Moguls World Cup is on Saturday 25 February from 12 noon with live coverage of the finals on Eurosport Australia from 4.30pm.

 

Britt Cox has created history, becoming the first Australian female to win a Mogul Skiing World Cup title, in today’s Dual Mogul event in Tazawako, Japan.
 
After victory in yesterday single moguls event at the same resort, the 22-year-old NSWIS skier went down in the round of 16 to Russian Marika Pertakhiya by the smallest of margins, 18 to 17, and finished in ninth place.
 
Fortunately for Cox her closest rivals, Perrine Laffont of France and Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada were also unable to progress to the later rounds of the event. Cox now leads Laffont by 259 points and wraps up the series win, with only two events and a maximum of 200 points remaining in China next weekend.
 
Cox’s outstanding season comes on the back of six World Cup victories, which equals the legendary Dale Begg-Smith, who won six World Cup events in his Olympic Gold Medal winning year in 2005-2006.
 
Once the news came in that the title had been secured, Cox reflected on her journey in the sport.
 
“Mogul skiing has been my passion ever since I was a little kid. I live and breathe moguls, so to find out this afternoon that I have won the crystal globe for mogul skiing feels incredible."
 
“The job certainly is not done yet, we still have two more world cups in China before the World Championships in Spain."

"I skied well in the duals today but my opponent in the round of 16 skied better. It was a close one but I think I got a bit wild in the middle section which meant the dual went her way."
 
"I am so grateful for the motivated and hard working support team I have around me. The  Australian system of OWIA, AOC, AIS, NSWIS and Ski and Snowboard Australia provide our team with the best possible support to allow us to simply do our job as best we can week to week."
 
Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Mogul Skiing Head Coach Steve Desovich was thrilled with Cox's season after the event.
 
"Today Britt formally clinched the World Cup Title, which we are ecstatic with."
 
"This is a very monumental achievement and so well deserved. Ultimately only the very best are able to stay consistent throughout a whole season and emerge victorious."
 
“Having said this, we have two events remaining in China next week and the World Championships in March, which is where the focus will be at this stage.”

Cox’s World Cup title was not the only highlight for the OWIA/NSWIS Mogul Skiing Program in Japan, with Matt Graham putting together another impressive performance to take bronze.
 
Graham advanced though the first few rounds before a semi-final showdown with world number two, Benjamin Cavet of France. In a very competitive dual, Graham was unfortunately unable to progress to the big-final, going down 19 to 16.
 
Graham bounced back in the small-final, this time being on the right side of the 19-16 decision to take bronze against Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reiherd.
 
Graham was thrilled to come away with his third World Cup medal of the season.
 
“Today was pretty awesome. I am really happy to come away with my third consecutive podium here in Tazawako.”
 
“Today was pretty awesome. I am really happy to come away with my third consecutive podium here in Tazawako.”
 
“The duals were extremely fast today and I had some really good runs and some runs which I was just able to scrape through the round, but, I guess that is duals. It’s one against one and you just need to do what you have to do to win.”
 
“Unfortunately I made a big mistake against Benjamin Cavet in the semi-final as I was pushing my limit with how fast I could ski, but to bounce back and put a really good small-final run down was very satisfying.”
 
Other Australians in action included NSWIS skiers Rohan Chapman-Davies 9th, Jakara Anthony 16th, Madi Himbury 24th, Brodie Summers 27th, Krystle Yin 28th, Claudia Gueli 32nd and James Matheson 39th.

Britt Cox has sustained her excellent World Cup season by winning her sixth Mogul Skiing World Cup gold medal at Tazawako, Japan.
 
Today’s win makes it six golds from eight World Cups, plus one bronze and only once missing the podium this season (in Val St. Come, Canada).
 
With just one World Cup remaining this season in China next week ahead of the World Championships in Spain on March 8, Britt’s dominance in ladies’ moguls is unassailable for the World Cup title and also a realistic chance to take out the Freestyle Skiing overall World Cup, which is determined across all Freestyle disciplines. 
 
Cox did not have today’s event all her own way – qualifying second and then again in the first final to Perrine Laffont from France.
 
However, by the medal round Cox was back on top scoring 78.57 to Laffont’s 78.36.
 
"Wow what a day and what a feeling to be on the top of the podium in Japan,” Cox said.
 
“This is my first time in Japan and I am amazed at how much the Japanese people love mogul skiing. It was so exciting having all the Japanese school kids cheering for us on the side of the course."

"I really wanted to pick up the intensity for the finals today, so I was really happy when I took a good chunk off my time in the finals. I think that's what got me to the top spot today."
 
Coach Steve ‘Des’ Desovich couldn’t be happier.  
 
"We are thrilled with Britt’s performance today as she was able to improve on each of her three runs throughout the day,” he said.
 
“Britt skied fast, jumped well and had very good turns to conclude a nice rounded performance between all three sectors. The conditions were tricky and it was a challenge due to changing weather and snow conditions but Britt adapted very well and advanced nicely throughout the day with no major errors."
 
The week-in week-out schedule for the mogul skiers could take its toll but the coach praised the fitness of Cox and the Australian squad for their continued success.
 
"It has been a long season thus far and we still have duals tomorrow and China next week - so really it just has to keep going whether you want a breather or not,” Desovich said.
 
“Britt’s improved strength and conditioning is really paying off at this time of the year and it’s nice to see her continue so strong"

Cox was joined in the first final by fellow Australians Jakara Anthony – who is headed to the Asian Winter Games next week, and Madii Himbury finishing 9th and 16th respectively.
 
"It's always fun when I have my Aussie girls in the finals with me, I'm stoked for Madii and Jakara today,” Cox said.

Matt Graham continued his strong form, finishing 5th. Graham is also enjoying a successful season, having been in the top six in the eight World Cups so far, collecting one gold and one silver along the way. Brodie Summers was the next placed Australian male making the first final and finishing 10th.
 
Other Australian results included Claudia Gueli 24th, Krystle Yin 28th, Rohan Chapman Davies 39th and James Matheson 41st.
 
The Dual Moguls will be competed tomorrow (Sunday) from 2.05pm. 

IMAGE: Britt Cox (middle) on top of the mogul skiing world for the sixth time this season in Tazawako, Japan. © IDone

The second-to-last stop on the 2016/17 FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup tour is on this weekend in Tazawako, Japan, with a full weekend of competition on Saturday, February 18, and dual moguls on Sunday.

Dominating the Ladies World Cup is Britt Cox who, though not totally in the clear with 605 points to second-overall Justine Dufour-Lapointe’s (CAN) 434, is in a strong position to take the first-ever moguls title for the Australian ladies’ squad. 

Cox comes into Tazawako fresh off wins at the Olympic test event last weekend in Phoenix Park, Korea.
Training mate Nicole Parks is unfortunately out due to injury but NSWIS skiers Jakara Anthony, Claudia Gueili, Maddi Himbury and Kyrstle Yin.   

Matt Graham and Brodie Summers are back in action with 22-year-old Graham seeking another podium after last week’s sixth place.

““I would have liked to have been a few spots higher, so next week I’ll just fix a few things up and put down some cleaner runs and hopefully the results will come through,” Graham said after the Olympic test event last weekend.

With less than a month left in the World Cup season, it’s time to look at the Freestyle Skiing overall World Cup standings, where each athlete’s points totals are divided by the number of competitions entered in the season to give an average score against which all other athletes can be compared fairly.

Looking at the 2016/17 overall rankings, it’s the moguls skiers leading the table at this stage.

With 605 points in seven events thus far, Cox’s overall score of 86.43 puts her well clear of second place ski cross athlete Marielle Thompson (CAN), giving Cox a strong chance of the biggest trophy in Freestyle. 

Should she hold on to take the overall globe, which last season was won by halfpipe and slopestyle skier Devin Logan of the USA),  it will be a truly remarkable accomplishment for the 22-year-old skier whose previous best rankings at season-end were 14th in moguls in 2013/14, and 57th on the overall list in 2014/15. 

Single moguls competition in Tazawako gets underway on Saturday with ladies qualifications beginning at 11.45am, followed by the men’s. Finals get underway at 3.30pm. Sunday’s dual moguls competition will see preliminary heats beginning just after 2pm  and the final heats squaring off at 3.30pm.

The Australian Mogul Skiing team has had its most successful day in history, with Britt Cox and Matt Graham both winning World Cup gold in Canada.
 
Cox is now a triple World Cup winner, having won three of the four World Cups so far since the season opened mid-December in Ruka, Finland. She backed up the opening win with another gold in Lake Placid a month later, securing the yellow bib for the World number one ranking. Last weekend Cox had to settle for fifth in Val St Come, Canada but retained her lead in the ranking.
 
The 22-year-old Cox led the field in the qualifying round by over three points (78.22), went up a notch in the first final to lead scoring 81.11 and then had more for the medal round, taking the win with 82.11 points.
 
“Last week in Val St Come was a good learning event. This week in Calgary I stayed really focused on the process.”
 
“The course in Calgary is very technical because the pitch changes midway and becomes steeper. In previous years, I’ve found the course to be challenging, but now I can attack it more aggressively.”
 
“I wanted to be lofty in the jumps and also snappy, aggressive and fast,” Britt said.
 
Cox was satisfied with her three runs on the way to the win.
 
“I felt I did a clean run in the qualifying with room for improvement, because the level rises for the finals and I was able to lift all day. Each time I win, it’s more and more motivating.”
 
Retaining the yellow bib had a special significance for Cox this week.
 
“Our first day of training here was Australia Day. I was able to wear my green jacket and yellow bib. That was pretty exciting.”
 
The historic win puts the dual-Olympian into rare company as a multiple World Cup winner in one season with seven World Cup events to come before the World Championships in early March in Spain.

Matt Graham scored an impressive win over the five-time Overall World Cup Champion Mikael Kingsbury from Canada, who is widely regarded as the most successful World Cup mogul skier ever.
 
Graham has been steady throughout the season so far, scoring silver behind Kingsbury in the first World Cup and fourth last week in Val St. Come, Canada.
 
After qualifying in fourth, Graham was relaxed saying, “I knew I had more in the tank.”
 
In the first final, he took the top position for the medal run: a space he hasn’t occupied before.
 
“The course here is very technical. There’s not many courses like this in the world. The second half is much harder.”
 
“It was pretty bizarre being the last to go and up there by myself. It was windy with a cross tail wind. There was the sound of the wind and I just got in a good head space,” he said of the time waiting.
 
“I executed well, putting all the pieces together with two clean jumps and landings and good turns with no breaks in form or leg splits.”
 
Arriving at the finish Graham’s first reaction was how he could have done better.
 
“To be honest – I know I made a few mistakes and I wasn’t super confident (of winning). I couldn’t hear anything up the top. Then the score and placing came up and I was stoked – super excited.”
 
Overhauling Kingsbury for the second time is major win for the 22-year-old, Graham now moves into second on the world rankings behind the Canadian.
 
Britt Cox was just as excited for her NSWIS team mate. “It feels unreal to share the top spot on the podium with Matt. We train together all year round and I’m stoked to see his hard work paying off.”

See Britt Cox and Matt Graham’s winning runs: https://youtu.be/-zEn_IHNVbs

A number of NSWIS athletes also achieved personal best results, with three athletes reaching their first ever World cup final. These personal best results included Madii Himbury in 10th, Jakara Anthony 11th and Krystle Yin in 14th.

Also in action for Australia was Nicole Parks 22nd, Pip Sparrow 26th, Brodie Summers 28th, James Matheson 29th, Claudia Gueli 32nd and Rohan Chapman-Davies 42nd.

Mogul skier Britt Cox has fulfilled her goal by retaining the coveted ‘yellow bib’ after winning her second World Cup in Mogul Skiing in Lake Placid, USA this morning, making it back-to-back golds having won in Ruka, Finland in December. 
 
The 22-year-old upped the ante in execution, finding perfect form at exactly the right time winning the qualifying round with a massive 77.00 points, repeated the same form in the first final making it into the top six and then nailed the steep course yet again to stand atop the podium on Whiteface Mountain.
 
Despite her young age, the  Lake Placid win marks her 35th World Cup appearance.  Now firmly ranked as the World number one, Britt again scored the yellow bib – a feat no other Australian woman has achieved in Moguls and only Dale Begg-Smith has in the Men.
 
“I’m so excited to have back-to-back wins. After my win Ruka, this was the goal I set myself and I’m really happy to have executed today,” Britt said from Lake Placid.
 
“The course and conditions changed significantly throughout the rounds today, so I needed to be adaptive and just take it run by run.”
 
Preparation and detail are the keys to success according to head coach Steve ‘Des’ Desovich.

“Britt's early season success has been a very pleasant surprise and we are quite happy that all of her work has come to fruition,” Desovich said.

“As per usual Britt jumped quite well today so that was great. A lot of people have made contributions and we would like to acknowledge Marissa Downes from the OWIA/VIS Strength and Conditioning department who has worked very closely with Britt to improve her physical prep.”

“It’s a very exciting and dynamic period of growth that we hope to continue with.”

The OWIA mogul ski coaches plan to keep working on skills.

“From here the goal is just to keep working on skills and incorporating those skills into consistent performance.” 

“Dr Tom Hammond, our OWIA performance coach, has helped Britt a great deal so we would like to thank him as well.” 

Brodie Summers chalked up his first appearance in a World Cup first Final since 2014, scoring a PB of 73.10 after qualifying 7th ahead of his team mate and World number two, Matt Graham who qualified in 10th position but did not finish in the first Final.
 
“We are thrilled with this step up in Brodie’s performance but want to remain diligent moving forward,” said Coach Desovich.
 
“The coaching staff have been very impressed with Brodie’s work at our recent Winter Park camp in which he appeared to click on many levels. Brodie jumped extremely well today and we look forward to his continued growth in each sector of his skills and then into the whole runs completion percentage.”
 
Matt Graham did not have his best day on a changing course but is in great shape going forward.

“Matt had a challenging day on a difficult course but regardless of this particular performance the objectives remain the same in terms of skills and competition,” Desovich said.

“The coaching staff have full confidence in Matt and appreciate his overall great work. We will treat each event as a separate entity moving forward and look forward to the next stop in Val St Come.”

Final result for the Lake Placid Ladies Mogul Skiing World Cup: 1st Britteny Cox AUS (75.27) 2nd Perrine Laffont FRA (74.20) 3rd Morgan Schild USA (72.51).

Nicole Parks made her return to competition with a 24th place in the qualification round, scoring 61.73 points. NSWIS development athletes Claudia Gueli placed 27th, Krsytle Yin 28th, Madi Himbury 31st and Pip Sparrow 32nd.

Other men’s results for Australia include NSWIS skiers James Matheson 35th (61.69) and Rohan Chapman-Davies 36th (61.61).
 
The Australian Mogul Skiing team are looking forward to cheering on the Flying Kangaroos Aerial Ski team before heading to Val St. Come, Canada for the third World Cup on January 28.  
 
 

Courage, loads of ability and a calm mind is required for a skier standing alone in the moguls start gate because the only way is down – at extreme speed, in an extreme environment with knee-punishing risky bumps over a 250 metre-long course at an angle of between 26 and 30 degrees.  

The expanded Australian moguls team, led by Britt Cox and Matt Graham, is back in action for the second World Cup on Whiteface mountain in Lake Placid, USA early on Saturday morning (AEDT).   

Britt Cox claimed a breakthrough victory at the season-opening World Cup in Ruka, Finland in December, winning her first gold medal.

Britt found her rhythm in Finland after having to fight through the qualification round.

“I realised after the first final (in Finland) to stay calm, use breathing and focus on the process and not the outcome because there is still a job to be done,” Britt said after her win.

She will be hoping to emulate that form in Lake Placid, having had two weeks at home for her first Australian Christmas in nine years before returning to the snow and her team mates and coaches in Colorado for a pre-comp camp.

"The training camp in Winter Park was really productive.

The moguls team heading to Lake Placid has expanded with OWIA athlete Nicole Parks now on deck plus a contingent of NSWIS skiers.

"We had some excellent training conditions and ended up with nine quality days on snow. It was great  to train alongside more Aussies and I'm looking forward to having more girls join me on the circuit for these upcoming events," Britt explained.

"I'm excited to get back in the start gate this weekend in Lake Placid for the first World Cup of 2017."

Also home for a short summer burst on the NSW Central Coast was 22-year-old Matt Graham, who has heads turning following his impressive growth in consistency that saw him ranked second only to Canadian Mikael Kingsbury.

Graham opened his new season in Finland with another silver behind the Canadian, cementing his ranking as a podium athlete before heading home for Christmas.

“It was nice to spend some time with my family and friends before getting back into an intense training block over the past two weeks,” Matt said.
 
“I was able to capitalize on my time at home and have a strong strength and conditioning focus by getting into gym to train with John Marsden.”
 
“I think overall it was very beneficial to give the mind and body a break and also get some good strength and fitness gains. This will make a big difference come World Championships in March.”

Perth born and bred Brodie Summers, is looking for more this season, after placing 36th in Finland following a strong preparation.
 
“I wasn’t pleased with last year’s season at all. My major goals for this season are to compete how I practice and put down a good base,” Brodie said.
 
“The second half of this off-season went well and I want to build on top of that and execute to the best of my ability.”
 
Summers paid tribute to coaches Steve (Des) Desovich and Jerry Grossi.
 
“Des and Jerry have an unbelievable technical knowledge. They see and pick up on minute details, provide good tactical advice and we benefit from that. They are the difference between a good run and an amazing run.”
 
Nicole Parks spent last season rehabilitating a knee injury and is now ready to compete.

Lake Placid marks Nicole's first World Cup for the 2016/17 season. The OWIA athletes have been joined by NSWIS mogul skiers Rohan Chapman Davies (who finished 14th in Ruka, Finland), James Mathieson, Jakara Anthony, Madii Himbury and Claudia Gueli. Also competing in Lake Placid are Krystle Yin (NSW) and Pip Sparrow (VIC)

The World Cup for Moguls in Lake Placid will be held January 13 and 14.

What a day for Australian moguls with Matt Graham winning silver in the Ruka, Finland World Cup adding to Britt Cox's earlier Gold.

This is the first time that Australians have been first and second in the same World Cup event, a result which delights OWIA CEO, Geoff Lipshut.

"Statistically, this morning's results have been the OWIA's best ever moguls day," Lipshut declared.

Britteny Cox delivered Australia's the best-ever Ladies Moguls World Cup result winning Gold in magnificent style in the season's opener and Head Coach Steve Desovich is happy.

"Britt got through from the qualification in only 11th place, but she had a great run in the round of 16, and went into the superfinal ranked number 1. A strong performance  skiing the last run of the night gave her a great first win of her career," he said.

Success sits well with the 22-year-old from Mt Beauty in Victoria.

"I am so excited to kick of the season with my first World Cup win. This has been a goal of mine for quite some time now and it's very satisfying to finally climb to the top of the podium," Britt said this morning.

"I made a big mistake in my first qualification run so I knew I needed to execute a nice clean and tidy run in the second quals to get back in the game. Once I reached the finals I found my gear and let my training come through."

"Sharing the podium with a team mate makes it even more special. It's a very proud moment to be there with Matt, and makes it even more special."

"The whole team, including the coaches and OWIA support staff worked really well together here and I'm really  grateful for the support we have, which gives me confidence for the rest of the season."

Execution, speed and detail were all on show as Britt skiied a brilliant run to score 73.81 in the final ahead of Perrine Laffont (FRA) close behind on 73.13 and Keaton McCargo (USA) on 71.78. 

Graham, from the NSW Central Coast, was well prepared for the opening World Cup - knowing that all eyes would once again be on Canada's Mikael Kingsbury, who claimed his 30th career victory and clearly the favourite for the win in Ruka.

"Matt was very solid today, he skied well at all stages of the event. It is great to see him pick where he left off last season," said coach Steve (Des) Desovich.

Kingsbury was challenged by Graham whose solid performances had him second in the qualifying and both finals, displaying the consistency that the Australian coaches Des and Jerry are looking for in their squad.  

In the end, Kingsbury won by four points with 84.26, followed by Matt Graham on 80.30 just edging out Ben Cavet from France who scored 80.11.

"Rohan Chapman Davies also did a really nice job today to qualify for the final and then register a PB in 14th place," Coach Desovich added.

The moguls team are headed back to Australia for a two-week strength and conditioning camp before the North American leg of the tour.

Forget about the warm weather and summer for the Aussies looking to qualify for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. It’s all snow and ice in a power-packed few days as World Cups and Grand Prix Final events dominate the icy European sports calendar this weekend.

Kicking off on Thursday night in France are Ski Cross athletes Sami-Kennedy-Sim and Anton Grimus at Val Thorrens who are looking to qualify in the season’s first World Cup in a re-vamped competition schedule that has six World Cups in 15 days.

Still in France are Australia’s new wonder pair skating team, Harley Windsor and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, who will compete in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Marseille early tomorrow morning (2.25AM AEDT).

The 20-year-old indigenous skater from Sydney’s western suburbs and his Russian-born 16-year-old partner shocked the figure skating world with their surprise gold medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Tallinn, Estonia, qualifying 7th best in the world and scoring a berth in the prestigious final six world when a Russian team withdrew due to injury.

Australia’s Short Track team are in action in Shanghai, the third World Cup this season.

Deanna Lockett came away with a top ten ranking in the 1500m in Salt Lake City in November and says she is, “working to match my strength with my racing skills. I feel like I'm taking small steps forward but I need to focus on my racing in the lead up to the next event."

In the Men’s Short Track – the tight-knit group of Pierre Boda, Andy Jung and Alex Bryant are looking to capitalise on their past top 20 performances.

The ice has more to offer with newly-crowned National Figure Skating Champions Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine competing in the final ISU Challenger event in Zagreb, Croatia.

Craine is topping up her competitions this season having already bagged a silver medal in Warsaw and bronze in Latvia last month. She faces stiff competition with the return of 2014 Sochi bronze medallist and 2012 World Champion Carolina Kostner and 2016 US Champion Gracie Gold.

Kerry, who landed a magnificent quad salchow jump in last week’s nationals has been on the invite-only Grand Prix circuit but needs competition ranking points ahead of the World Championships next March.

The technically gifted skater knows he needs his quad jumps but there’s always two sides to a figure
skater.

“I’ve worked a lot on the component side of my skating, as well as my spins and steps. It’s headed in
the right direction,” Kerry said after the National Championships last week.

Long track speed skater Daniel Greig is fresh from a silver medal in the 500m B Division in Astana,
Kazakhstan last weekend, lifting his ranking and qualifying for the A Division. Greig headed straight
back to his Netherlands base to prepare for the A Division showdown with the world’s best in
Heerenveen early Saturday morning (3.15Am AEDT).

The always entertaining Moguls World Cups are a physical and technical contest like no other. The
OWIA Moguls team have been ensconced in Ruka, Finland, ahead of their assault on their first World
Cup just after midnight Sunday (AEDT).

First to hit the bumps in the qualifying rounds is Britt Cox, Australia's first female World Cup
medallist in mogul skiing.

World moguls men’s number two Matt Graham, who had a breakthrough with his first career victory
last season, and teammate Brodie Summers make it to the starting blocks around 2AM on Sunday
morning. All three skiers will be looking to make it to the final 16 and top 6 from 6.30am on Sunday
morning.

Australia’s biathlon hopefuls will be on course in Ridnaun, Italy, for the IBU Cup 2 with Youth
Olympic Games athlete Darcie Morton and brother Damon combining for the single mixed relay on
Thursday evening. The duo will then back up for the sprint event on Friday with Daniel Walker
joining them.

In a positive sign for the growth of biathlon in Australia, seven up-and-coming youngsters will take to
the snow in Lenzerheide, Switzerland for the Junior IBU Cup 1.

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Matt Graham has cemented a place in the the top-3 on the World Cup standings after finishing eighth in the Dual Moguls event in Tazawako, Japan.

After finishing second in yesterday’s Men’s Moguls final, Graham knew a solid performance today would see him remain in second place, behind leader Mikael Kingsbury.

With just one event remaining for the season, a Dual Moguls race in Moscow, Russia next weekend, Graham now leads Frenchman Benjamin Cavet by 80 points.

Cavet was able to make some ground after finishing third today.
​
Canadian Philippe Marquis has dropped from third to fourth in the standings, after finishing seventh.
 
World Cup Standings:

Men

1st Mikael Kingsbury CAN 605                  
2nd Matt Graham AUS 378                  
3rd Benjamin Cavet FRA 298     
4th Philippe Marquis CAN 288  

IMAGE: Matt Graham in action competing in Japan © FIS                          

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA)/New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete Matt Graham has continued his impressive recent form by finishing third in the first of two Mogul Skiing World Cup events in Tazawako, Japan.

Graham scored 83.05 in the six-man Super Final, to just finish behind runner-up, Canadian great Mikael Kingsbury, and winner Bradley Wilson, of the United States.

The result sees Graham remain in second place on the World Cup standings behind Kingsbury.

Following the final, Graham reflected on another great event.

“I am happy to come away with another podium; I felt like I skied really well today for the most part,” Graham said.

I made a slight error into the bottom air in my Super Final, so I am a little disappointed with that, because the rest of my run was really good and I could have been one or two steps higher, but you live and learn,” Graham added.

Head Coach Steve Desovich was full of praise for the 21 year old Sochi Olympian.

“Matt had a superb day going today, with a marked performance increase in this morning’s training and qualification runs,” Desovich said.

“Matt had an excellent performance going into the Super Final, but then encountered a mishap going into the bottom jump which prevented him from a complete performance.”
​
“With time and diligence, I foresee Matt ultimately mastering three consecutive competition runs. It is rewarding to see him reap the benefits of all his hard work,” Desovich added.

IMAGE: Men's podium on day one in Japan featuring Matt Graham (right) © FIS