Freeski superstar Indra Brown has shown maturity and skill well beyond her years, finishing fifth in the Women’s Freeski Halfpipe on the final day of competition at Milano Cortina 2026.
After a snowstorm forced the postponement of the final originally scheduled for Saturday night, Brown finally got her moment in the sun – quite literally competing under warm bluebird skies on Sunday morning.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au
The 16-year-old landed three clean runs in the pipe, progressively adding more technical tricks each run. She said she was saving her best run for last – pulling out a run she’d never landed in competition before, to score 87.00.
“I tried to build every run to try and up my score, which I did,” Brown said.
“Then on my last run, I was able to land a left cork nine blunt, right cork nine safety, left cork 10 safety switch, right five Japan, left cork seven, and then left alley-oop five mute.
“I’m stoked on that run, I've never put it down in competition, so I was really happy to.”
Brown’s fifth place result is the second-highest finish for an Aussie Winter Olympic teenager in history, only behind two-time Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony who placed fourth as a 19-year-old in her moguls debut in 2018.
As the youngest member of Australia’s 2026 Winter Olympic Team – and also the competitor that has had to wait the longest to compete – Brown said she was ready to put on a show in Livigno.
“Oh, it's incredible. You know, to be able to land three runs at the Olympics is pretty special,” the Melbournian said.
“I just wanted to come out here and show everyone what I could do, so by doing that and getting this result, it’s just amazing.”
Defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu (CHN) won her sixth Olympic medal and first gold of Milano Cortina, putting down a massive third run to score 94.75. It’s her third medal of the Games, adding gold to her slopestyle and big air silver medals. Gu’s compatriot Fanghui Li won silver (93.00) narrowly ahead of Great Britian’s Zoe Atkin in third (92.50).
Gu was the first person to run over to Brown after she landed her successful third run and congratulate the Aussie teen on a fantastic Olympic debut.
“We just gave each other a big hug, she was really proud for me,” Brown said.
“It’s really cool, she saw that I idolised her, so to have her give me a hug at the end of my last round of the Olympics is pretty special.”
Brown won’t have long to soak in her achievements, jumping straight on a plane to represent Australia at the 2026 FIS Park & Pipe Junior World Championships in Calgary, Canada which get underway next week.
When she eventually returns back home to Melbourne, she said she’s looking forward to seeing all her school mates.
“I think it'll be pretty sweet to see all my friends, they're really happy for me, so it'll be really cool.”
After a snowstorm forced the postponement of the final originally scheduled for Saturday night, Brown finally got her moment in the sun – quite literally competing under warm bluebird skies on Sunday morning.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au
The 16-year-old landed three clean runs in the pipe, progressively adding more technical tricks each run. She said she was saving her best run for last – pulling out a run she’d never landed in competition before, to score 87.00.
“I tried to build every run to try and up my score, which I did,” Brown said.
“Then on my last run, I was able to land a left cork nine blunt, right cork nine safety, left cork 10 safety switch, right five Japan, left cork seven, and then left alley-oop five mute.
“I’m stoked on that run, I've never put it down in competition, so I was really happy to.”
Brown’s fifth place result is the second-highest finish for an Aussie Winter Olympic teenager in history, only behind two-time Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony who placed fourth as a 19-year-old in her moguls debut in 2018.
As the youngest member of Australia’s 2026 Winter Olympic Team – and also the competitor that has had to wait the longest to compete – Brown said she was ready to put on a show in Livigno.
“Oh, it's incredible. You know, to be able to land three runs at the Olympics is pretty special,” the Melbournian said.
“I just wanted to come out here and show everyone what I could do, so by doing that and getting this result, it’s just amazing.”
Defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu (CHN) won her sixth Olympic medal and first gold of Milano Cortina, putting down a massive third run to score 94.75. It’s her third medal of the Games, adding gold to her slopestyle and big air silver medals. Gu’s compatriot Fanghui Li won silver (93.00) narrowly ahead of Great Britian’s Zoe Atkin in third (92.50).
Gu was the first person to run over to Brown after she landed her successful third run and congratulate the Aussie teen on a fantastic Olympic debut.
“We just gave each other a big hug, she was really proud for me,” Brown said.
“It’s really cool, she saw that I idolised her, so to have her give me a hug at the end of my last round of the Olympics is pretty special.”
Brown won’t have long to soak in her achievements, jumping straight on a plane to represent Australia at the 2026 FIS Park & Pipe Junior World Championships in Calgary, Canada which get underway next week.
When she eventually returns back home to Melbourne, she said she’s looking forward to seeing all her school mates.
“I think it'll be pretty sweet to see all my friends, they're really happy for me, so it'll be really cool.”
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