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.

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.

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Matt Graham remains ranked the number two athlete in the world following the Deer Valley world cup.

Competing in dual moguls, the second World Cup event in Deer Valley, Graham was unable to progress past the round of 16, finishing in ninth place.

With a number of other leading male athletes also upset in the early rounds of the event, Graham remains in second place on the World Cup standings with three events remaining in the season.

Britt Cox also made it through to the round of 16, finishing in 11th place. Cox finishes the season in 12th place on the World Cup standings.

Australian athletes Brodie Summers, Rohan Chapman-Davies, James Matheson, Nicole Parks and Madi Himbury were all eliminated in their first round of duals.

IMAGE: Britt Cox after the dual mogul event in Deer Valley © Andrew Pattison

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA)/New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete Matt Graham has won his first ever World Cup event, after securing the gold medal in the moguls World Cup event in Deer Valley, Utah, USA.

Graham has described the victory as the highlight of his career to date.

“I am super ecstatic, this is without a doubt the biggest and best result of my career to date,” Graham said.

Graham went into the Super Final, consisting of the top six skiers, in second place, and put down a near perfect run.

It was then a nervous wait for Graham, as he watched the great Canadian Mikael Kingsbury come down last. But, when he realised he’d beaten the Olympic champion’s score, the celebrations began.

“This is definitely the biggest event of the year, and technically it’s a tough course,” Graham said.

“It is just great knowing that I am getting appreciated by the judges, and I know now that when I perform at my best, I can be right in contention,” he added.

OWIA teammate Brodie Summers missed out on a spot in the Finals, after finishing 20th in qualifying.

Britt Cox’s consistent season continued after finishing in the top ten and qualifying for the Finals.

Cox finished eighth with a score of 75.39, to just miss out on a place in the Super Final.

Nicole Parks made a return to World Cup competition following knee surgery just over 12 months ago, finishing in 26th place.

A number of NSWIS athletes also competed after being granted development World Cup starts.

James Matheson placed 44th and Rohan Chapman Davies finished in 46th position in the men's event.

In the women's event, Jakara Anthony finished in 31st place, with Madi Himbury unfortunately crashing on the bottom jump and was unable to finish her run. Claudia Gueli was unable to compete due to a hip injury sustained in official training.

IMAGE: Matt Graham celebrates on the podium after winning his first ever World Cup © Andrew Pattison

Twenty-year-old mogul skier Britt Cox this afternoon (Australian time) secured Australia’s second World Cup medal in 24 hours to cap off a highly successful weekend at Deer Valley in the United States.

The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia/NSW Institute of Sport athlete snared the bronze medal, which is the third time she has finished third in a World Cup, in the duals moguls event.

Cox’s impressive performance under lights in front of a huge crowd comes on the heels of a second place by teammate Matt Graham who won his first World Cup medal in the singles event on day one at Deer Valley.

The event, regarded as the best on the World Cup tour, was won by Canada’s reigning Olympic champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe with American two-time Olympic medallist Hannah Kearney in second.

Although Cox, who improved on her sixth place in yesterday’s singles event, provided the biggest highlight for the Aussie team this afternoon, there were several other impressive results by OWIA/NSWIS teammates.

Once again Graham showed that he has improved significantly this season when he went down in a tough quarter final tussle with the eventual winner, Olympic silver medallist and current World Cup points leader Mikael Kingsbury from Canada.

American Dylan Walczyk was second and third went to Switzerland’s Marco Tade.

Graham ended the day in sixth overall and his successes this weekend have lifted his current World Cup ranking to number four.

Adding to the fortunes of the day, NSWIS athlete Madi Himbury finished in eighth place after winning through to the quarters, to record a career best in World Cup competition.

In other results for Australians, Nicole Parks was 23rd, Jakara Anthony 38th, Roanna Humphries 39th and James Matheson and Rohan Chapman-Davies were 38th and 40th respectively.

Cox, who has fought back from an interrupted start to the season, clearly showed that she is also still improving each week due to her strong work ethic and is looking for further improvements.

Cox admitted that her podium performance came as a little surprising, particularly as she survived an ultra-close battle in the quarters against Canada’s Maxime Dufour-Lapointe before winning her small final dual against Switzerland’s Deborah Scanzio.

“It did come as a bit of a surprise but it feels awesome, really good,” Cox said.

“I trained so hard all year and I really wanted it.

“I’m really proud and really proud to be part of the Australian team. We have a fantastic relationship and we all push each other.

“And I have two incredible coaches, Steve Desovich and Jerry Grossi, and we’re a fantastic team. With that team around me, it is all very special.”

With World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, next Sunday, the medal winning performance gives Cox a great deal of confidence.

“I have a lot of confidence because of the way I have trained this year and this is more evidence that shows me that I am capable of skiing well,” she said.

“I will now move forward and focus on the job.

“I’m really happy with the way I’m skiing right now but I know I can do more and it’s just a matter of focusing and making sure everything comes together at the right time and the right place.

“Every competition I go out there and focus on skiing my best and if I focus on that I have confidence I can be the best out there on the day.”

The Aussie team now travel to Austria for a training camp in preparation for Kreischberg.

Results

Women’s dual moguls World Cup, Deer Valley, USA

1.   Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN), 2. Hannah Kearney (USA), 3. Britt Cox (AUS), 4. Deborah Scanzio (SUI), 5. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (CAN), 6. Jee Won Seo (KOR), 8. Madi Himbury (AUS), 23. Nicole Parks (AUS), 38. Jakara Anthony (AUS), 39 Roanna Humphries (AUS).

Women’s moguls World Cup standings after round 4

1.   Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) 285, 2. Hannah Kearney (USA) 246, 3. Chloe Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) 220, 4. KC Oakley (USA) 163, 5. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) 151, Britt Cox (AUS) 140, 22. Nicole Parks (AUS) 52, 26. Madi Himbury (AUS) 43.

 

Men’s dual moguls World Cup, Deer Valley, USA

1.   Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), 2. Dylan Walczyk (USA), 3. Marco Tade (SUI), 4Philippe Marquis (CAN), 6. Matt Graham (AUS), 38 James Matheson (AUS), 40. Rohan Chapman-Davies (AUS).

Men’s moguls World Cup standings after round 4

1.   Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) 329, 2. Philippe Marquis (CAN) 185, 3. Endo Sho (JPN) 156, 4. Matt Graham (AUS) 149, 5. Alexandr Smyshlyaev (RUS) 141, 6. Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh (CAN) 140.

Mt Buller hosted the 26th annual ABOM Moguls Challenge yesterday, with the event again attracting a world class field of competitors and a massive crowd on the Summit course.

First held at Mt Buller in 1989, this iconic event is one of the highlights of the winter season, attracting some of the world’s best mogul skiers and yesterday’s competition was no exception. 

After making his Olympic debut at Sochi in 2014, Olympic Winter Institute of Australia skier Matt Graham took out the Men’s final yesterday in a hard fought duel against Rohan Chapman–Davies.

Graham has now won 5 ABOM Titles equalling two-time Australian Olympian Nick Cleaver’s record of five straight ABOM titles, which Nick achieved between 1991 and 1995.

In the women’s event, 2013 winner Nicole Parks celebrated back to back ABOM Moguls Title’s after prevailing against fellow Winter Olympian Britteny Cox. Parks has now won 3 ABOM Title’s, after breaking Cox’s streak of 3 consecutive Titles last year.

Buller Ski Lifts CEO Laurie Blampied was very happy with the success of the 2015 event.

“It was fantastic to see the ABOM Moguls return to the Summit course yesterday, helping make the event into a true spectacle for everyone to enjoy.

Once again we welcomed a world class field of competitors and we congratulate Matthew Graham and Nicole Parks who were once again well deserving champions.”

The ABOM Mogul Challenge is sanctioned by the International Ski Federation (FIS) with results contributing to World Rankings and National team selections.

http://www.abommogulchallenge.com/

Australian teenager Britteny Cox finished fifth in the Moguls final at Extreme Park on Saturday night. In doing so, she became the most successful Australian female Moguls skier of all time.

“Incredible. That’s the skiing that I needed to do tonight. That final round of 12 was some of the best skiing I’ve ever done. I had a lot of fun on that Moguls course,” Cox said.

“It definitely feels like a win. These are happy tears right now.”

The 19-year-old admits she struggled a bit in the qualifications, but fought hard to get into the super-final.

In her final run, Cox pulled off a clean 360 on the first jump, picked up some speed in her turns through the middle, but then wobbled the landing of her backflip.

“A little bit overcooked on the bottom air which probably cost me a few points there, but I’m happy because I pushed the limits and personally that’s a big step and big hurdle for me,” she said.

The two-time Olympian is already looking forward to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

“In Moguls skiing, anything can happen especially when you’re down to that final six and the girls are just really pushing it. I could have been in there, on the podium, but I’m happy with my skiing tonight and really excited for what I can do in the future.”

Canadian sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe went 1-2, with defending Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney (USA) claiming Bronze.

Cox’s teammates Nicole Parks and Taylah O’Neill both had fantastic Olympic debuts to progress from qualifying to Final 1 where they finished 15th and 16th. To reach the top 20 finals was a goal of the pair and they delivered.

Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

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 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.