Australian mogul skiers have podiumed in both the men’s and women’s Australian National Mogul Championships after two days of scintillating action on the Perisher snow.

The Championships kickstart the FIS mogul events of the 2017/18 northern season which attracts athletes from USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, France and Switzerland.

Japan’s Ikuma Horishima crowned Men’s champion at National Moguls Championships

Australia’s Matt Graham, James Matheson and Rohan Chapman-Davies all placed within the top five places, demonstrating a strong depth of mogul talent in the country.

Known as one of the longest and most difficult mogul championship courses in the world, skiers tackled ‘Toppa’s Dream’ jumping up to three storeys high and travelling at 10 metres-per-second over the bumps.

2018 Men’s Australian National Mogul Championships podium

1. Ikuma Horishima (JPN)
2. Matt Graham (AUS)
3. James Matheson (AUS)

Aussie young gun Jakara Anthony tops Women’s Championships
PyeongChang Winter Olympians Jakara Anthony and Madii Himbury were on show to on snow spectators and off snow live stream viewers, with Anthony taking the competition after a score of 81.01, judged less than one point higher than second place.

In promising signs for Australia’s mogul skiing future, four home grown athletes lined up in the final with Jakara Anthony (1), Taylah O’Neill (6), Madii Himbury (7) and Phoebe Tudhope (16) flying the Aussie flag.

2018 Women’s Australian National Mogul Championships podium

1. Jakara Anthony (AUS)
2. Perrine Laffont (FRA)
3. Junko Hoshino (JPN)

New finals format undergoes first run
As part of the Championships, a new finals format was trialled on behalf of the FIS Moguls/ Aerials Committee.

The format has been proposed as a mechanism to introducing more variety and progression in mogul skiing.

Within the new format, the “best of” format is a top 16 finals with the best of two runs counting towards the final result.

It is expected the new format will promote a more exciting and varied competition for spectators/broadcaster because athletes will feel greater freedom to perform a run with a higher degree of difficulty.

Triple Olympian Britt Cox has won silver in the women’s dual moguls at the Tazawako World Cup in Japan over the weekend.

After placing fifth at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games last month, there was hardly any rest for the 23-year-old, who also finished fifth in the single moguls event on Saturday.

Cox was tempted to wrap up her massive season after the 2018 Games, but was attracted to one last hit out in Japan.

“It feels so great to be back on the podium,” she said after Sunday’s dual event.

“I almost finished the season after the Games, but I had some fire in me and I love this event so I decided to come here and compete.

“The atmosphere in Tazawako is crazy for the World Cup. The event attracts a lot of people from the Akita region and the crowd really get behind the sport. So it’s an amazing place to be on the podium.”

“Being the first competition post Olympics, there were more skiers here who didn’t make the Games but were fired up and ready to go. Dual moguls is always really exciting for us as athletes and everyone was having a great time pushing the speed.”

The duals format sees two skiers go head-to-head in elimination rounds where each winner advances to the next round until there are only two athletes left.

Cox lined up against USA’s Tess Johnson in the fourth round for a shot at the top spot on the podium. Johnson’s put down a blinder final run and the 17-year-old claimed the gold medal in what was her very first World Cup podium.

Cox’s Tazawako results see her move into second place on the overall women’s moguls World Cup standings for the 2017/18 season.

“Stoked to creep back up to second on the overall standings even with skipping the last World Cup before the Games,” she said.

France’s Olympic champion Perrine Laffont still stands as world number one on 527 points after winning the single Tazawako event and placing fifth in the duals. Cox sits behind her on 467 points, just six points ahead of USA’s Jaelin Kauf.

Laffont won gold in the single event, ahead of 2018 Olympic silver medallist Justine Dufour-Lapointe, from Canada, and USA’s Keaton McCargo in bronze.

In the men’s event, Australia’s PyeongChang Olympic bronze medallist Matt Graham was unable to return to his medal-winning form, placing 15th in the single moguls and 17th in the dual moguls.

Japan’s Ikuma Horiashima won double gold in both the single and dual events in front of an energetic home crowd. Olympic Champion Mikael Kingsbury had to settle for second in both events, ahead of Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd who won double bronze.

The event in Japan marked the end of the season for Cox and Graham, who will join the rest of the Australian Mogul Skiing Team on a well-deserved break.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

FREESTYLE SKI: Milestones and more were par for the course for Australia’s freestyle skiing athletes at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Sixteen Australians were in action across aerials, moguls, ski cross and ski slopestyle, and the Aussies were setting records before stepping on the snow.

Aerials Olympic gold medallist Lydia Lassila became the first woman to compete at five Winter Olympic Games, the achievement followed two Winter Olympic Games where she claimed medals, becoming Olympic Champion in 2010 before she won bronze at Sochi 2014.

In Moguls, the 2018 Games marked the first time Australia had four men and four women at an Olympics. In doing so, Australia and Canada were the only nations to have full representation at the Moguls competition.

Moguls athletes got Australia’s 2018 Olympic Winter Games campaign underway and the women were up first. On Olympic debut, 19-year-old Jakara Anthony was exceptional as she claimed fourth in the super final. Three-time Olympian Britt Cox was fifth.

“The whole thing’s been a massive learning experience for me and I’ll definitely be taking all the experience that I had here going into Beijing 2022," Anthony said.

Madii Himbury progressed from the second qualification round and finished 20th, while fellow debutant Claudia Gueli finished 23rd.

A day later and in the men’s moguls, Matt Graham put Australia on the medal tally with a stunning silver medal winning performance. Graham was consistently consistent through qualifying and finals, and put down one of the best runs of his life to finish second behind Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury.

"It was amazing putting down that final run which was my best run of the night. I knew when I saw the score I was going to be on the podium,” Graham said.

Olympic rookie James Matheson finished 14th while teammate Rohan Chapman-Davies finished 22nd. Having flared up his ACL injury during training, Summers chose not to risk further injury and did not line up for the event.

"Wasn’t an easy decision that’s for sure,” Summers said.

“Definitely emotional. As soon as I made the call everybody in my team told me ‘you’ve made a smart decision and you’ve reduced your risk for getting yourself right for world championships next year.’”

At the Aerials, all eyes were on five-time Olympian Lydia Lassila and her final Olympics performance.

The 36-year-old narrowly missed the final and finished 14th.

"This is an outside sport and you can't control a lot of things and tonight I just couldn't control the speed," Lassila said.

With an Olympic career spanning nearly two decades, Lassila said she was disappointed with her final Winter Games performance.

"It's a feeling of loss in a way ... you've lost an opportunity but that's sport and you've got to reflect on the good and happy moments that I've had with my kids, my family, my friends -- life is good," she said.

Results were mixed in the women’s event, with Laura Peel and Danielle Scott advancing to the finals and Samantha Wells exiting at the qualifying round, finishing in 17th place.

In the Super Final, Peel attempted a Back Double Full-Full where she over-rotated and then back-slapped on her landing. She finished fifth.

“My goal was to make the top six, the Super Final, and I did that,” Peel said.

“We did our best out there. I had a huge group of supporters in the crowd so I was definitely feeling the love.”

Needing to be in the top nine to progress from Final 1 to Final 2, Scott backslapped while attempting a Back Full-Full to finish the competition in 12th.

In the men’s event, David Morris secured a start in the final after finishing the second qualification round in second place.

He performed a Back Full – Double Full – Full, to claim 10th overall.

Morris was pleased with the jump he put down but the field produced high scoring jumps. The leader, Guangpu Qi of China was awarded 127.44 for his execution of the same trick.

“We tried our best, it is what it is. Tenth is a pretty sweet result and I’m happy with that,” Morris said.

“We’re in an Olympic final so that’s awesome and this competition is top class so even to be here is quite the privilege.”

In the days leading into the men’s ski slopestyle, dual Olympian Russ Henshaw struggled to walk up stairs, but that didn’t stop the 27-year old from putting down two solid runs.

Having injured his knee less than a month ago, Henshaw said he was happy just to make it to the start gate.
He finished 19th in qualifying, putting him out of contention for a place in the final.

“Just being in that start gate about to drop, to get there after all I’ve been through over the last two weeks was a surreal feeling in itself,” Henshaw said.

There were mixed results at the Ski Cross after Anton Grimus fractured his collarbone and Sami Kennedy-Sim advanced to the small final and finished eighth overall.

27-year-old Grimus suffered a crash during his seeding run and went into the finals with a sore shoulder. He went on to finish fourth in his round of eight heat.

Dual Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim recorded her best result of the 2017/18 season.

"That was a solid battle and it's a step up for me and the best result that I've had all season," Kennedy-Sim said.

"To be one of the top girls in the world, that's sick and I hope that I can get other kids to come and have a crack, it's super fun!"

Michelle Cook
olympics.com.au

Matt Graham has put down one of the best runs of his life to win Winter Olympic silver in the men's moguls at Phoenix Snow Park tonight.

Becoming the 11th Australian to win a Winter Olympic medal, Graham saved his best run for last scoring 82.57 to put him in first place with three skiers to come.

Only one would better his score and it was the overwhelming favourite for top spot on the podium, Mikael Kingsbury.
The all-conquering Canadian pulled off a near flawless run scoring 86.63 to take home the gold. Japan's Daichi Hara won bronze with a run of 82.19.

Graham was undoubtedly ecstatic with the result.

"It's pretty awesome," Graham said. 

"I'm over the moon, it still hasn't sunk in but I can't wait to celebrate.

"It was amazing putting down that final run which was my best run of the night. I knew when I saw the score I was going to be on the podium.

“I came out today and, actually the first training session before the qualification session didn’t exactly go as I would’ve liked, maybe I just felt a little bit stiff and then went inside, took a breather and came out firing. 

“I was just having fun and when I’m having fun I’m skiing the best.”

Graham said the support in the crowd meant so much.

“It’s amazing, my teammate Jimmy they’re his brother and his best mates and they’re mine too so it’s amazing having all those guys out, all the families, my family in particular and, you know, my three friends here and my girlfriend — it’s really amazing to have them all here and I’m just really happy," Graham said.

“And my grandparents too, besides mum and dad they’re a very close second to my biggest supporters and it means the world to me to have them here and I can’t wait to hug them and celebrate later."

Kingsbury has now won it all in the sport and despite his lofty status he still had time for some kind words for his good mate Graham. 

"I'm yet to see his run but Matt is so consistent and so precise in everything he does - he is one of the toughest competitors I have," Kingsbury said.

"I always want him to do well but I want to do a little better."

Competing at his second Games, Graham earlier moved into the Super Final with a score of 80.01 to progress as the fourth highest ranked runner.

Prior to that he put down a superb run in Final 1 to score 81.39 to claim second and easily progress from the top 20 into the top 12. 

Olympic rookie James Matheson finished just outside the cutoff in Final 1 placing 14th with a score of 75.98. 

“Coming out here today I basically had nothing to lose, it was just to come out here and do my best run without any place in mind," Matheson said.

"I was just focused on the simple things and that ended up getting me my second best result ever to date.

“Overall I’m really happy with it and to narrowly scrape on the next final was just the cherry on top and also seeing my friends with their shirts off was pretty funny.”

Teammate Rohan Chapman-Davies didn’t better his run from Friday night in Qualification 2, and recorded a best score of 73.96, finishing in 22nd place overall.

Unfortunately, after completing an on snow assessment, it was decided that Brodie Summers would not line up for the event.

Summers flared up his ACL knee injury at training before the first run on Friday and was not showing great mobility tonight so chose not to risk further injury.

Matt Bartolo/Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Australian competition on Day Three will be based out of Phoenix Snow Park with the women’s halfpipe qualifications followed by the men’s mogul skiing finals.

In the moguls, the men will be looking to build on performance of the Aussie women from Day 2, where three skiers made the first final, before Jakara Anthony and Britt Cox went on to finish fourth and fifth respectively in the Super Final.


Next Up
Snowboard Halfpipe
Holly Crawford will become a four-time Olympian when she lines up for the ladies snowboard halfpipe qualification runs at 1.30pm (3.30pm AEDT). Joining Crawford is Olympic rookie and Youth Olympic Games silver medalist Emily Arthur. Crawford and Arthur will be aiming for a top 12 finish to advance to Monday’s final. Read the event preview HERE.

Moguls
Following an exciting night of women's moguls action, it’s the men’s turn to line up for the second moguls qualification run and finals. After finishing 9th in the first qualification run, world number three Matt Graham has automatically qualified for today’s 20-skier final. Rohan Chapman-Davies, James Matheson  and Brodie Summers have one more chance to join Matt in the finals, by securing a top-10 position in the second qualification run from 7.30pm local time (9.30pm AEDT).

Catch up
Jakara Anthony and Britt Cox finished just off the podium in the women's moguls finals at Bokwang Snow Park late Sunday night. Olympic debutant Anthony put down a score of 75.38 in the Super Final to claim an exceptional fourth place. Triple Olympian Cox was just behind her, finishing fifth in the Super Final with a score of 74.08. Madii Himbury qualified for the first final, finishing in 20th place, while Claudia Gueli finished 23rd on debut. Read the event recap HERE.

In Cross Country Skiing, dual Olympian Callum Watson bettered his Sochi 2014 result in the men’s 15km + 15km Skiathlon event on Day 2, finishing in 58th place in extremely difficult conditions. Read more HERE.

Alex Ferlazzo has made history last tonight, securing Australia’s best Olympic men’s luge result with a 28th place finish. Read the event wrap HERE.

Slopestyle Snowboard: 17-year-old Tess Coady ruptured her ACL in the final training run prior to making her Olympic debut in the Snowboard Slopestyle, bringing a premature end to her Olympic campaign. Read more HERE.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Jakara Anthony and Britt Cox have finished just off the podium in the women's moguls finals at Bokwang Snow Park.

On Olympic debut, 19-year-old Jakara Anthony was exceptional as she claimed fourth after scoring 75.38 in the Super Final.

Cox headed into the Super Final with the second highest score in Final 2 before scoring 75.08 to claim fifth place. 

Perrine Laffont of France won the gold medal with a score of 78.65, with defending Olympic Champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada claiming silver and Kazakhstan's Yulia Galysheva taking the bronze medal. 

“I had a lot of runs today and they progressively got better," said Anthony. 

"I think my first two final runs were my best and then full on day so by the time you get to the Super Final it starts to drop off a bit. It wasn’t my best run of the day but I’m still really happy with how I performed.

“The whole thing’s been a massive learning experience for me and I’ll definitely be taking all the experience that I had here going into Beijing 2022."

After having to come through qualification 2 to make the top 20, Anthony produced one of her best runs of the competition with a score of 76.81 to move through to the final 12 in fourth place. She then finished the second final in 4th with a score of 76.85.

Cox closely followed Anthony with a score of 75.79 to make the top 12 in 5th before then scoring 78.28 to move into the Super Final in 2nd.

“My goal for this week and for tonight in particular was to absolutely go for it, give it everything I’ve got and I really truly believe that I did that tonight so for that I’m really happy and I’m really proud," Cox said.

"It didn’t really pay off for me in the Super Final, I went too big and too fast and was scrappy in the middle but I achieved my goal of going for it so that’s a positive and I’m proud of that”

Over the past eight years Cox has seen the sport develop sport so much in Australia and she is not only proud of her perforance but also that of her teammates.

“This is my third Games so it’s not my first rodeo but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

"I've especially enjoyed being part of a full team, it’s been so exciting with this being the first time we’ve ever had four women from Australia competing in the moguls so I’m really proud to have three other teammates there skiing alongside me.

"That’s super exciting but I’m definitely looking forward to the next four years and to Beijing in the future.”

Madii Himbury, who had earlier progressed from qualification 2 scored 68.19 to finish 20th overall.

Himbury said it was “pretty exciting” to make it into the finals.

“I squeezed into the top 20, just, and I was hoping to go a bit faster and a bit bigger and I did," she said.

"I just had a little mistake on the bottom there, drifted a little and so didn’t get the score that I’m hoping for but I did what I wanted to do and I went for it so I’m happy.

“It’s been pretty good, the noise carries as well so we can hear all the cheers up in the start gate. We’ve got lots of friends and family here so it was all very exciting.

Claudia Gueli unfortunately had a fall between her two jumps in qualification 2 and finished 23rd overall.
"That was really fun, I was happy with my skiing up until the little hiccup, but regardless it’s been such a journey so I can’t complain," said Gueli.

"It’s pretty good conditions, the course is a bit firmer because it’s colder today but we’re used to it from other courses around the globe.

"I got an edge, I was a bit too over the wrong foot on one of the turns and once that happens it’s really hard to come back from so I pulled out, tried to save myself but it doesn’t always pan out the way you want it to.

"I'm going to go home and rest up and start training in about a month to prepare for the next year."

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

Australia’s female mogul skiers have opened Australia’s PyeongChang 2018 campaign at Phoenix Park this morning.

Two-time Olympian and 2017 World Champion Britt Cox was the first of the Aussies on the course in Friday’s qualification run, progressing through to Final 1 after finishing 6th place with a score of 76.78.

“It was so fun to get out there, I always say that comp day is my favourite day,” she said.

“Competing at the Olympics and the first event of the Games is really exciting. The course was ripping this morning, so I had a lot of fun.”

For the 23-year-old, who also has a World Championships gold medal and a Crystal Globe as the top ranked freestyle skier of 2017, Friday’s run was “business as usual”.

“I came out in training this morning, got to know the course, was working on my technique and fine-tuning things,” she said.

“Whenever I click into my skis I’m happy, so I had a really good time out here this morning.”

Cox was the only one of the Australian contingent directly through to Final 1 after placing in the top ten.

Australia’s three other female moguls skiers will now need to place in the top ten of qualification 2, which will feature the 20 skiers that have not already progressed, on Sunday to join Cox in Final 1.

Olympic debutant Jakara Anthony finished in 14th place with a score of 69.49 and said that it felt “pretty awesome” to have put down her first Winter Games run.

“There’s room to improve, I can only go up from now,” she said.

“There’s lots of girls that are great that are in front of me a lot of the time or sometimes they’re behind me, it switches up a bit so you don’t really know who’s going to ski well on the course or not.”

The 19-year-old’s fellow teammate and Olympic debutant Madii Himbury finished in 15th place after her first run which featured her signature backflip.

“Today was my first Olympic run so it was a bit nerve racking. Hopefully next time I can go a little bit faster for the whole run,” she said.

“It’s all very exciting, last night it kind of sunk in a bit more with the Welcome Ceremony. The nerves are now out of the way so now we can go and rip it on Finals day.”

Also making her first Olympic appearance in PyeongChang, Claudia Gueli finished in the top 20 with a score of 68.68.
The 20-year-old said that she will be aiming to pick up more speed in the second qualification round.

“I think with the right attitude and the right preparation I should be able to do it,” she said.

“It’s absolutely incredible, I’ve dreamt about this my whole life … I came out today with the best training I’ve had throughout the three days of training. I got to put all the pieces together in comp so it turned out really well.”

The Women's finals will be held on Day 2 and Men's finals on Day 3 (February 10-11). See more of the freestyle skiing Team HERE. 

David Barden
olympics.com.au

Australia’s full contingent moguls team have enjoyed their first training run on the PyeongChang 2018 course – and they believe the conditions are primed for Australian success.

Four Australian men and four Australian women will compete in the freestyle skiing event, beginning with qualifications on Day 0 (Friday 9 February).
The team competed on the Phoenix Snow Park course in February 2017 but recent adjustments to the moguls has put the competition into Australia’s advantage.

“The moguls are actually quite big and firm which adds a bit more technicality to the course,” Sochi Olympian Matt Graham said.

“Last year from my perspective the course may have been slightly easy so they’ve done a really good job to build the top section up and put a bit more pitch and firmer and icier moguls in which I think will work into [Australia’s] favour as we’re generally really technical skiers so that gives us a lot of confidence going forward into the week.”

Graham, who is competing in his second Winter Olympic Games, said the course design would "separate the men from the boys".

“For us [the course is] quite normal; it’s 250m, it’s about 28 degrees in pitch but what can change is just the snow conditions, the shape of the moguls, the transitions to the jumps.

“That’s the stuff they can really manipulate to make the course more technical, and for us we thrive on technical courses and challenging courses.”

Fellow men’s mogul skier Brodie Summers – who is also lining up for his second Olympic berth – agreed that the course was tough but was a welcome personal challenge.

Returning from major surgery on his ACL in September 2017, Summers relished his the opportunity to try out the Winter Olympic venue just days before competition.

“Last night I looked at it and I thought this will be a really good test for [for my knee] because as we’ve discussed the conditions are quite challenging and it’s a technical course,” he said.

“But after the first two runs I warmed up, I relaxed into it and I had a really good time.

“I looked at the video after training and I thought ‘you know what, the skiing’s not looking too bad’ so I’m feeling good about where I’m at.”

Olympic debutant Jakara Anthony said for the moment, the experience felt similar to her World Cup appearances – which is good news for Australia given the 19-year-old finished fifth at the first Deer Valley World Cup in January this year.

“I’m just trying to approach it the same as a World Cup so that I can put together the run that I’m trying to do, similar to what I’ve been doing all season,” Anthony said.

Still, it will be an incredibly tough battle for a spot on the podium and some of Anthony’s greatest threats are her teammates, including world number 4 Britt Cox  who will make her third Olympic start at just 23 years of age.

Cox, who took out the World Championship title in Sierra Nevada, Spain, in March 2017, said the women’s moguls’ event would be one to watch in PyeongChang.

“It’s a really exciting time in women’s mogul skiing at the moment and I feel really honoured to be a part of that,” Cox said.

“At the moment, anyone within the top 10 is capable of putting down the best run on the night and that’s really exciting and that’s really motivating for me for when I’m up there and training in the next couple of days to push myself and let that competitive vibe come out of me in my training in through to the competition.”

Moguls qualification will be held on Day 0 (February 9), with Women's finals on Day 2 and Men's finals on Day 3 (February 10-11). See more of the freestyle skiing Team HERE.

Candice Keller
olympics.com.au

MOGUL SKIING: Three Olympians and three debutants will make a six-strong Australian mogul skiing contingent at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

Dual Olympian and 2017 World Champion Britt Cox will headline the Team in the women’s event, looking to improve upon her fifth-place finish from Sochi 2014.

The Victorian skier was the youngest member of the Australian Team when she finished 23rd on debut at Vancouver 2010 at the age of 15.

Now, with two Olympic Games, a World Championships gold medal and a Crystal Globe as the top ranked freestyle skier of 2017 under her belt, the 23-year-old is “looking forward to new experiences in Korea this time around.”

“Representing your country at the Olympic Games is a very special feeling, so I’m really excited to be named on the Aussie team for PyeongChang 2018,” Cox said.

“Australia has such a rich Olympic history both in summer and winter sports, so to be part of that legacy is a huge honour. I’m really inspired by the culture that exists within this Aussie team, we all push, encourage and inspire one another and that fuels me within my own personal sporting goals.”

Sochi Olympians Brodie Summers and Matt Graham will return for their second Games at the Korean ski resort.
After rupturing his ACL in September 2017 and undergoing a relentless rehabilitation program, PyeongChang will be Summer’s return to competition.

“I am aware that my situation leading in to the Games hasn't been ideal but I am also extremely fortunate to have a body that bounces back well from injury,” Summers said.

Given the setbacks and challenges he has overcome, Summers is feeling “immensely proud” about today’s announcement and is motivated to improve on his 13th place Sochi finish.

“Being selected to any Olympic Team is always a huge deal but given what I have been through over the past four and a half months I think it has just made me appreciate it so much more.

“There were days during the rehab process where I felt like the world was against me and maybe I was reaching too far when trying to come back in time for the Games, but my team and I have found a way to overcome every obstacle we have encountered along the way.

A more confident and experienced Graham will head into his second Games as the third ranked male mogul skier, fresh off four World Cup medals from seven events this season.

“I was only 19 years old in Sochi, so I was young and naive and wasn't quite sure on what to expect,” 23-year-old Graham said.

“With the experience gained in Sochi I will definitely feel more comfortable in the start gate at PyeongChang and I will better be able to handle the pressures and hype of the Games.

Graham, who finished 7th on debut at Sochi 2014, believes this year’s Team is “our strongest to date”.

“Australia's success in mogul skiing really goes back to the grass roots. I believe we have the best pathway in the world from the club programs at our local ski resorts all the way through the sporting institutes and to the national team. We have the best coaches and the best network of support so everything combined really creates a recipe for success.

“I get to travel the world and compete with and against my best friends, where we all enjoy the friendly competitive rivalry. My teammates push me to my limits and I try to return the favour as best as I can.”

Joining the more experienced athletes as part of this close-knit team include debutants Jakara Anthony (19), Madii Himbury (24) and Claudia Gueli (20).

Young-gun Anthony had her break out season last year, where she qualified for two World Cup finals, placed 12th at her World Championships debut at Sierra Nevada, Spain and was selected to wear the green and gold at the Sapporo 2017 Asian Winter Games, where she placed sixth.

The skier from Barwon Heads, Victoria made her first 6-skier Super Final this season at the Deer Valley World Cup, where she placed fifth, and will head into her debut Olympic Games with a world ranking of 14.

“It’s really, really exciting, it’s a dream come true,” Anthony said of her selection in the 2018 Team.

“I decided I wanted to be an Olympian back when I was a little kid, when I started mogul skiing as a 10-year-old. I’ve been working towards this for quite a while now so it’s a really big goal to have achieved.”

The men’s and women’s mogul skiing qualification events will be held at Bokwang Snow Park on Day 0 (February 9) with the women’s finals on Day 2 and the men’s on Day 3 (February 11-12).

Dale Begg-Smith claimed Australia’s first mogul skiing Olympic medal when he won gold at Torino 2006. He returned four years later to win silver at Vancouver 2010. Find out more about Australia’s freestyle skiing Olympians HERE.

Find out more about Freestyle Skiing at the PyeongChang Games HERE and see the full selected Team HERE.
​
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony have finished the pre-Olympic season with a finals run at the Tremblant Moguls World Cup this morning.

Both missed out on advancing to the 6-man Super Final, with current world number three Graham finishing in 11th place and Anthony finishing in 13th.


22-year-old Graham qualified 11th with a score of 83.36, and held his position with a score of 83.92 in the first final.
Although he was pleased with the way he skied, the Sochi Olympian prefers a more technical course and said the Canadian mountain didn’t play to his strengths.


“I thought I skied quite well today, I thought I jumped well and executed the plan, but the judges didn’t really agree with that, so not much I can do about that,” Graham said.


“The course here is quite interesting, it’s not much of a standard course like the one we’ll see in Korea.


“The course is really flat and quite short, which makes it easy and when it’s easy everyone skis well, so it condenses the field quite a lot and everyone was scoring really high so you couldn’t really make any mistakes.


“Today was a different story to most events but none the less it was still a fun day skiing and now on to the next day.”


In the 6-man Super Final, Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima, brought an end to Canadian Mikael Kingsbury’s streak of 13 World Cup wins.


Horishima, currently ranked sixth, pipped Kingsbury for the gold medal by 0.51 points, taking the top spot on the podium with a score of 93.88, above the world number one’s silver-medal score of 93.27.


“[Horishima’s] put down runs which were really hard to beat,” Graham said. “I don’t think anyone would have beaten him today, his final run was quite amazing.”


Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd rounded out the podium with bronze, keeping his spot as second in the world, while Graham remains comfortably in third.


Things didn’t go to plan for Graham’s fellow Aussie teammates, Cooper Woods-Tapolovic, James Matheson and Rohan- Chapman-Davies, who finished 47th, 49th and 50th respectively.


In the women’s event 19-year-old Anthony qualified 15th for the small final, and boosted her final position up two places with score of 75.54 in the 16-women first final.


At the end of the Olympic qualification period she sits in 14th place on the world rankings.


Sochi 2014 gold medallist, Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe, won gold with 87.43, followed by her teammate Andi Laude in second on 85.35 and Kazakhstan’s Yulie Galysheva won bronze with 84.61.


Krystle Yin was the next best placed Australian female (29th) followed in quick succession be Madii Himbury (30th), Sophie Ash (31st), Claudia Gueli (34th) and Taylah O’Neill (35th).


The Aussie Mogul Team now head to Colorado for a final training camp before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which kick off in three weeks’ time.


“From here we go down to Steamboat for five or six days of training before we head to Korea at the end of the month.
“So now it’s about putting the final touches together and trying to get the most out of the final days of preparation as possible,” Graham said.


Full results from the Tremblant World Cup are available HERE. The Australian Winter Olympian Team will be selected at the end of the week.


Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

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

Mogul skier Jakara Anthony lived up to the promise she showed late last season in making her first World Cup Super Final in Deer Valley, Utah today.

Finishing 5th in a 51-strong field, Anthony laid down her best in all three runs, starting with sixth in the qualifying, again sixth in the small final before climbing one more to her final fifth career-best result.

The 19-year-old Victorian, whose previous best was ninth in Japan last year is “beyond excited”.

“It’s my first super final and I’m beyond excited,” she said at the finish of her event.

“I had a solid qualifying with sixth, backed it up with sixth in the final and then one more in the super final. It’s one of my best runs in comp that I’ve had.”

Anthony scored 73.90 points in the qualifying, increased to 78.04 in the small final and laid down 76.19 for her final run.

“It was awesome looking down at the crowd (for the super final) and I was a bit nervous but I got the job done with a fifth.”

Deer Valley in Utah is regarded as the super bowl of Freestyle Skiing, attracting big crowds to the sport’s premier date on the competitive calendar.

“The conditions today were ever changing. A bit of rain and a bit of snow but the weather cleared and the course was awesome by the super final,” Anthony said. “Today I did nothing different to what I’ve been training, just got it together better which I haven’t done previously this season.”

“Now it’s recovery, get ready to go again tomorrow and back it up,” Anthony said of the second World Cup tomorrow.  
Anthony edged out team mate Britt Cox, the current Number 1 going into Deer Valley, relegating her to seventh place in the small final and therefore, not able to advance to the medal round.  

Cox had put down a quality run in the small final without too many mistakes but perhaps lacking a bit of flair on this occasion. The emerging US women, Kauf, Schild and McCargo, threw down the gauntlet with fast, technically strong runs finishing second, third and fourth behind winner Perrine Laffont from France.  

20-year-old Queenslander Sophie Ash, who is in her debut World Cup season, stepped up again making her second small final this week, having qualified in Calgary last weekend and now in Deer Valley. Ash came in 13th in qualifying, scoring 72.04 and again 13th in the small final with an imporved 74.16 points.

Matt Graham made a herculean effort to qualify fifth (in a field of 62 men) and make the top 16 after suffering from a bout of gastroenteritis last night, which saw him admitted to hospital for three hours for an intravenous drip.

Despite being unwell, Graham made it to 13th in the small final after having trouble with the landing on his bottom jump – a D-Spin 1080 - and will hopefully regain some strength before tomorrow’s second World Cup.

Other Australian results for the women were Taylah O’Neill in 18th with a very strong performance, Madii Himbury 32nd, Krystle Yin 37th and Claudia Gueli 42nd.

Men’s results include Rohan Chapman-Davies 32nd, James Matheson 37th and Cooper Woords-Topalovic 54th.
The action starts again tomorrow in Deer Valley for the second World Cup starting with Women’s qualifying at 8.10am (AEDT). Finals can watched LIVE on Eurosport Australia  

Follow OWIA on twitter HERE and check out the OWIA  website and pyeongchang2018.olympics.com.au for all the updates.
 
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

Four months ago, Sochi Olympian Brodie Summers was hoping the routine training jump that ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament could be rehabbed with enough time to make his second Olympic appearance next month in PyeongChang.

The answer is in.

As the rest of the OWIA and NSWIS mogul skiing squad compete in the fourth World Cup in Calgary this weekend, Summers is winging his way to Winter Park in Colorado, USA to train with Australia’s Nor Am skiers from the Mogul Skiing Academy as his next preparatory step before a full return.  

“Our Nor Am skiers have kindly said that they’re happy for me to join them,” Summers said before left his Melbourne home today.

The relentless, positive way in which Summers has tackled and condensed a twelve-month rehab with his trainers and medical professionals is remarkable, but as he well knows, the ultimate test is yet to come.

In September  Summers said that it was "quite the mogul I have deal with" after surgery to his torn ACL and that he was motivated "to give it every bit I've got to get the job done".

Summers has done exactly what he set out to do and is now headed for a return to groomed snow and the mogul course - one bump at a time.

 “This is the time where I work myself back into a moguls course.," he says of the coming weeks in Colorado. "The first few days will be cruising around on groomed snow and then step by step back into moguls course until hopefully I can put all the pieces back together for the pre-Olympic training camp in Steamboat from January 21.”

“I’m excited, really pumped up to get back into the season. Things have revved up the last couple of weeks and I feel more like a elite athlete again.”

Has he missed team mates Matt Graham, Britt Cox and the NSWIS mogul skiers in the early part of the season?

Maybe, but as with the common, positive vibe that runs like water through the Australian mogul teams, he feels connected and now, ready.

“It will be fun to be back in the team. The good thing with social media is that I can feel part of it,” he says.

Feeling “more like an elite athlete again” is the only admission the 24-year-old will entertain about the physical and mental mountains he has climbed since the simple training jump went wrong on September 5 at Mt Buller.

Within a few days of rupturing his ACL, surgeons took a graft from his hamstring tendon to replace it.

The work began on intensive rehab, led by OWIA’s Ashley Merkur.  Summers was back in the gym a week later up to six times a week, a couple of times a day.  

By December, Summers was in Japan to tackle snow.

“Japan was first time back on snow, having the sensation of gliding again and feeling comfortable in the ski boots. After the first couple of runs doing that, we started doing some drills and fundamentals. Putting the knee under those kinds of loads.”  

Talk to any internationally successful mogul skier and you will hear about the importance of the basics. The rehab training stint in Japan reinforced those basics and tested the knee.
 
“Fundamentals for mogul skiers are essential,” Summers says. “We wanted to exercise as much control as possible with the edge of the ski and forward pressure – and good weight distribution and a nice body position.”

“I was after very consistent turn shape and control, and also symmetry to make sure it was even given what my right knee went through, that it could handle the loads.”

“It’s good to have the opportunity to do that.”

The next step before leaving for Colorado this weekend was a ten-day water jumping camp in rural Victoria, which has bolstered his confidence.

“The water ramping went really well actually,” he said. “I had my last session this morning and speaking to Ash (Merkur) on the way back about the difference between day 1 and today. It (the water ramping) gave me confidence in my body.”

Summers is now a dark horse for PyeongChang. His international record last season where he finished eighth in the world and collected two World Cup podiums puts him in the mix.

He has the experience and the mind-set that has been honed from a desire for the sport when he began competing in the Victorian inter-schools program.

“My friend was part of Team Buller Riders and convinced my parents to drive up every weekend during Term 3 back in 2006 and 2007.”

Summers showed such promise and love for his sport that in the following two years he went to school in Mt Buller.

“My parents bought an apartment up there and Mum came up. My dad and (older) siblings would come up on the weekend. I got very obsessed from the moment I did it and was quite late into the sport as a 13-year-old compared to others.”   

By 2010, Summers was part of the NSWIS mogul squad and came into the OWIA mogul skiing program in 2013 before the Sochi Olympics, where he finished 13th.

PyeongChang will be his return to competition. That's about as tight as it gets.

By Belinda Noonan
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

Expectations might carry a lot of weight for aspiring athletes, yet for Mogul Skiing World Champion and Crystal Globe winner Britt Cox, training and competing at her best comes as second nature and is a welcome challenge the already two-time Olympian readily accepts.

On the record multiple times for saying that her inspiration lies in wanting to be a better skier “next week and the week after”, the 23-year-old also has a few role models whose achievements propelled a very young Britt Cox to be the best she can be.

From Mt Beauty in the Victorian alpine region, Cox’s first major event as a young child in 2003 was memorable, not least because she won, but also because she was motivated by the Olympic gold medal performance of Aerial Skier Alisa Camplin.

“When I was seven I remember watching Alisa win gold at the 2002 Olympics. That was hugely inspiring to me,” Cox recalled earlier this year.

“The next year (2003) was my first ever interschools and we were next to the Aerials site at Mt Buller, where Alisa and the Aerials team were training. I won my first interschools mogul competition that day.

“After my race, I waited at the top of the lift so Alisa could sign my result sheet. I’ll never forget that. Alisa has been a role model for me and over the years, I’ve got to know her.”

Graeme Cox still remembers his daughter’s first win more than fourteen years ago.

“Britt was eight (years-of-age) in August 2003. I was standing there with Steve Lee (Olympic skier). Britt and Steve’s daughter Layla were in the comp. As soon as we saw Britt’s run we knew that was the run that would take comp,” he recalled clearly.

Graeme Cox, who was then a moguls coach and is now the Winter Sports Director at the Snow Sports School in Falls Creek with around twenty coaches working for him in all snow disciplines, knows what he is watching.

“At the time, I was just happy that she was enjoying herself. I do remember Britt wanting to go autograph hunting. She’d already been to the presentation and she had a copy of her results sheet and went over to wait,” he said.

The respect and admiration goes both ways between Camplin and Cox.

Camplin, an Olympic gold and bronze medallist who will join the 2018 Australian Olympic Team as its Performance Manager, was very moved when reminded about the very young Britt Cox waiting for her at the top of the lift on Mt Buller in 2003.

“Britt makes my heart melt,” an emotional Camplin said on recognising how important the interaction had been.
“I’m just one of many in the winter sport community who have watched Britt grow up. It’s been easy to respect, admire and want good things for Britt because she does all the right things.

“She’s in the gym, communicates openly and honestly, is grateful, appreciative and open-minded – the list goes on.
“Britt is always hungry to be better and is humble and kind in the process.

“We hope to see her effort turn into the outcome she wants. She’s an experienced young lady now and it’s easy to respect her.”

Camplin has swapped a media role for a voluntary Performance Manager position at PyeongChang 2018.

“I had a great experience in two Olympic Games (as an athlete) that led to a wonderful outcome and then two Olympics on the media side,” she said.

“I’m now inside the team and want to help create the high performance environment and the greatest chance of success.

“I realise how important support was (to the athletes). I recognised it back then and I want to be able to give back, by providing that support for our current and future athletes.

“It’s a chance to help other athletes fulfil their dreams.”

The 43-year-old is no stranger to the high performance environment. Her strengths and experiences now see the dual Olympic medallist as Deputy Chair of the Australian Sports Commission and on the Boards of the Olympic Winter Institute Australia and Collingwood Football Club.

“Being an elite athlete is like having a deep level of inner trust and inner belief and that’s what allows Britt to achieve her ultimate potential. The results take care of themselves,” she said.

Camplin is excited about her role as Performance Manager next February.

“It’s energising to meet the athletes (again). There is such a positive culture around the winter athletes. Everyone is focussed on the right thing and there is open communication. To know all of this is happening before PyeongChang instils a lot of confidence,” she said.

For Britt Cox, who is approaching her third Olympics at just 23-years-of-age, the final push towards PyeongChang has begun with the OWIA and NSWIS mogul skiers now training in Ruka, Finland ahead of the season’s first World Cup on December 9.

As a seasoned international athlete, Cox is well accustomed to being away from home for many months at a time.
“Living away from home from so young, I had to learn to be independent,” she said.

Compared to others her age, Britt says she, “has matured faster in some aspects and behind in others.”

Completing her communications degree is an important tick on her to do list, but it can wait for a while because “education will always be there.”

For now, her focus is on this season and defending the extraordinary results from last season when she captured seven World Cup victories in eleven events.

“Last season, whenever one of us got a result, the rest of us were happy and would try even harder so we could all be on the top of the podium,” she said.

The accolades since her Crystal Globe award in March this year as the overall best freestyle skier in the world have come thick and fast.

Cox was jointly awarded as Ski & Snowboard Australia’s Athlete of the Year with Snowboarder Scotty James in April and two weeks ago as the New South Wales Institute of Sport Female Athlete of the Year.

Will PyeongChang 2018 be her final Olympics?

“There will be another Olympics after this!” Britt Cox declared.

The opening Mogul Skiing World Cup begins with Ladies Qualification on December 9 in Ruka, Finland. Also competing will be OWIA athlete Jakara Anthony and NSWIS skiers including Taylah O’Neill, Madii Himbury, Claudia Gueli, Sophie Ash and Krystle Yin.

The Australian Men’s contingent is led by multiple World Cup medallist Matt Graham along with NSWIS skiers Rohan Chapman-Davie, James Matheson and Cooper Woods-Topalovic.

For more information see the 2017/18 moguls World Cup calendar

The finals can be watched on Eursport. Check local guides.
 
 
 

The annual New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Awards were presented on Thursday evening following an exceptional year that saw one of Australia’s most successful winter sports seasons ever.
 
Moguls Queen Britt Cox was named the Office of Sport Female Athlete of the Year following a stellar season that saw the 23-year-old win the Overall FIS Ladies Freestyle Skiing Crystal Globe in February.
 
Accepting the award, the two-time Winter Olympian said that since receiving her first NSWIS scholarship as a teenager she has been “so well supported, not just from my family but from NSWIS”.
 
“I was lucky enough that [after] being recruited as a 13-year-old, two years later I was at my first Olympic Games,” she said.
 
“I had so much support and I’d been taught by NSWIS [how] to go from an athlete to an elite athlete.”
 
Moguls coach Steve Desovich -- who was named alongside fellow coach Jerry Grossi as Southern Design Coach of the Year -- said that it all came down to the athletes “who we are fortunate enough to coach”.
 
“We are very pleased to have assembled such a high calibre group and look forward to the challenges for this upcoming season,” he said.
 
“Britt, Matt and Brodie were outstanding last season and it was quite a pleasure to see the hard work pay off with growth in both skills and competition performances.
 
“Winter sports in Australia has been able to achieve great outcomes over the years and sustain growth simultaneously.”
 
The level of camaraderie between the Australian mogul team members is well known, with Matt Graham being full of praise for Desovich and Grossi, who have been involved in his career since he was a teenager.
 
“Britt and myself believe they are the best coaches in the world and I think having that belief really makes a difference for us training,” he said.
 
“[It] gives us the confidence they will give us the right advice to make the difference moving forward and they just work really well together.
 
“They produce world class athletes and that’s been proven.”
 
Young gun Tess Coady, who just returned to Australia following the opening of the Big Air World Cup season in Milan, was named Mizuno Junior Athlete of the Year.
 
Coady’s mother, Kate Davie, was beaming with pride when her 17-year-old daughter’s name was announced as the winner.
 
“I feel thrilled for her and I feel that it’s recognition of a lot of hard work, lots of highs and lots of lows,” she said.
 
“[It’s] recognition really of the hard yards that goes into what she does every day when she goes out to train.”

Here's a full list of all the award winners:

Southern Design Coach of the Year
Steve Desovich/Jerry Grossi (Winter Sports)

Office of Sport Female Athlete of the Year
Britt Cox (Winter Sports – Mount Beauty)

Mizuno Junior Athlete of the Year
Tess Coady (Winter Sports – St Kilda)

University of Sydney Academic Excellence
Hannah Buckling (Water Polo – Mosman)

ClubsNSW Personal Excellence Award
Kaarle McCulloch (Cycling – Wilton)

Ian Thorpe OAM Outstanding Achievement presented by Ryde Toyota
Lachlan Hollis (Water Polo – Cabarita)

Sydney Olympic Park Authority Program of the Year
Rowing
​
Arrowfield Stud Male Athlete of the Year
Jack Hargreaves, Josh Hicks, Spencer Turrin (Rowing)


David Barden
​OWIA

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