Mogul skier Cooper Woods has become Australia’s seventh Winter Olympic gold medallist.
The 25-year-old who had only once been on the moguls World Cup podium delivered a masterclass to come through today’s qualifiers and top the Olympic podium.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking
“It’s something you dream of day in day out as a kid - through the hard days, through the good days. It’s an absolute journey,” Woods said.
Woods dominated all day, topping Qualification 2 (80.46) before laying down a score of 83.60 to top the first final. That meant he was the final skier in the super final – for the first time in his career.
“I kept telling my coach up there: I’ve got nothing to lose. Let's get stuck into it!
“There's something when there's so much pressure, where you can just kind of let it all go and just kind of embrace it.”
With all the pressure on, Woods produced an even better score of 83.71 to take the gold. Australian Team flag bearer and 2018 silver medallist
Matt Graham
(fifth) was the first to celebrate, lifting his teammate up high on his shoulders.
“I've struggled with a lot of self-belief. I've had such a good year of training but not competing, and what a time to get it dialled and sorted, when the pressure is at its max,” Woods said.
He finished with the same score as legendary Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, but Woods had the cleaner turns (48.4 to 47.7) to edge Kingsbury for gold. Another all-time great, Japan's Akuma Horishima rounded out the podium.
Graham’s score of 80.88 put him in fifth.
Jackson Harvey
also reached the super final and finished in eighth with a score of 74.93. In the earlier qualification,
George Murphy
placed 29th.
“It's not just my medal, it's a lot of other people's medal... My family, teammates, friends, staff. It's been an absolute journey,” the Cooper said.
“To be skiing not just for myself, but for a lot of other people, brings a lot of pride.”
Woods wins Australia’s 20th Winter Olympic medal and is our 18th Winter Olympic medallist.
"Today was magic," Australian Winter Olympic Team Chef de Mission Alisa Camplin said.
"It was just so special to watch. Cooper did three perfect runs - the judges were all about perfection and he was flawless in all three runs. I can't tell you how hard it is to be that consistent.
"He's never been in the last position to go, let alone at the Olympic Games with the weight of the world - and he delivered the best possible result.
"Cooper's always been a man that rises for the occasion. We saw him do that in Beijing 2022... and then he did it again.
"There wasn't another man in the field that was flawless. Some people had a couple of harder jumps, but nobody else was flawless. Hats off to Cooper Woods."
Four-time Olympian Graham said he was incredibly proud of his teammate, who he has been training alongside since Woods was 15.
“To be up there, the last man standing, I just told him at the top that this is a privilege, make the most of it, turn by turn and just stay in the moment,” Graham said.
“He did that to the best of his ability and he’s standing up there alongside two of the greatest mogul skiers of all time, and he’s on the top step.
“I’m stoked for him – it's a win for our team, a win for the Australian Olympic Team, and a win for Australia.”
Coming into the super final ranked third, Graham said he was proud of his own performance, but two small mistakes prevented him from joining Woods on the podium.
“I made a little mistake on both landings which was unfortunate. If I had landed both those jumps, I believe I had enough to be in there with him and be competitive with those guys.
“It was unfortunate, but I'm proud of myself – I went for it, skied really fast, did the two hardest tricks in the comp. Then to see my family, my daughter, at the finish was really special.”
For Olympic debutant Jackson, it was his first ever time in a super final.
“It’s still settling in, but I’m really proud of how I handled the day,” the 23-year-old said. “The last run got away from me a little bit, but in high pressure moments, that happens sometimes and I’m not going to beat myself up for it
“I’m so proud of Coops and Matt, and George – the Aussies put on a damn good show!”
The Australian Men’s Mogul Team will return for the Dual Moguls competition on Sunday 15 February.
The 25-year-old who had only once been on the moguls World Cup podium delivered a masterclass to come through today’s qualifiers and top the Olympic podium.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking
“It’s something you dream of day in day out as a kid - through the hard days, through the good days. It’s an absolute journey,” Woods said.
Woods dominated all day, topping Qualification 2 (80.46) before laying down a score of 83.60 to top the first final. That meant he was the final skier in the super final – for the first time in his career.
“I kept telling my coach up there: I’ve got nothing to lose. Let's get stuck into it!
“There's something when there's so much pressure, where you can just kind of let it all go and just kind of embrace it.”
With all the pressure on, Woods produced an even better score of 83.71 to take the gold. Australian Team flag bearer and 2018 silver medallist
Matt Graham
(fifth) was the first to celebrate, lifting his teammate up high on his shoulders.
“I've struggled with a lot of self-belief. I've had such a good year of training but not competing, and what a time to get it dialled and sorted, when the pressure is at its max,” Woods said.
He finished with the same score as legendary Canadian Mikael Kingsbury, but Woods had the cleaner turns (48.4 to 47.7) to edge Kingsbury for gold. Another all-time great, Japan's Akuma Horishima rounded out the podium.
Graham’s score of 80.88 put him in fifth.
Jackson Harvey
also reached the super final and finished in eighth with a score of 74.93. In the earlier qualification,
George Murphy
placed 29th.
“It's not just my medal, it's a lot of other people's medal... My family, teammates, friends, staff. It's been an absolute journey,” the Cooper said.
“To be skiing not just for myself, but for a lot of other people, brings a lot of pride.”
Woods wins Australia’s 20th Winter Olympic medal and is our 18th Winter Olympic medallist.
"Today was magic," Australian Winter Olympic Team Chef de Mission Alisa Camplin said.
"It was just so special to watch. Cooper did three perfect runs - the judges were all about perfection and he was flawless in all three runs. I can't tell you how hard it is to be that consistent.
"He's never been in the last position to go, let alone at the Olympic Games with the weight of the world - and he delivered the best possible result.
"Cooper's always been a man that rises for the occasion. We saw him do that in Beijing 2022... and then he did it again.
"There wasn't another man in the field that was flawless. Some people had a couple of harder jumps, but nobody else was flawless. Hats off to Cooper Woods."
Four-time Olympian Graham said he was incredibly proud of his teammate, who he has been training alongside since Woods was 15.
“To be up there, the last man standing, I just told him at the top that this is a privilege, make the most of it, turn by turn and just stay in the moment,” Graham said.
“He did that to the best of his ability and he’s standing up there alongside two of the greatest mogul skiers of all time, and he’s on the top step.
“I’m stoked for him – it's a win for our team, a win for the Australian Olympic Team, and a win for Australia.”
Coming into the super final ranked third, Graham said he was proud of his own performance, but two small mistakes prevented him from joining Woods on the podium.
“I made a little mistake on both landings which was unfortunate. If I had landed both those jumps, I believe I had enough to be in there with him and be competitive with those guys.
“It was unfortunate, but I'm proud of myself – I went for it, skied really fast, did the two hardest tricks in the comp. Then to see my family, my daughter, at the finish was really special.”
For Olympic debutant Jackson, it was his first ever time in a super final.
“It’s still settling in, but I’m really proud of how I handled the day,” the 23-year-old said. “The last run got away from me a little bit, but in high pressure moments, that happens sometimes and I’m not going to beat myself up for it
“I’m so proud of Coops and Matt, and George – the Aussies put on a damn good show!”
The Australian Men’s Mogul Team will return for the Dual Moguls competition on Sunday 15 February.
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