Australia claimed its second medal at the 2025 FIS World Championships in St Moritz-Engadin, Switzerland, with a silver medal performance from the Australia 2 team of Mia Clift and Cameron Bolton in the mixed team event. The Australia 1 team featuring Josie Baff and Adam Lambert finished sixth.
 
The podium performance is 20-year-old Clift’s first international medal at the highest level, and the first World Championship medal for the 34-year-old Bolton.
 
Both Australian teams moved through the opening quarter-final round in second place to advance to the semi-finals.
 
In the semi-final, the Australia 1 team finished third in the opening semi-final, placing them in the small final and Australia 2 also finished in third, but was advanced to the big final after a controversial penalty for contact was given to female USA 1 team rider Acy Craig who had originally crossed the line in second, eliminating them from the competition.
 
In the big final, Clift and Bolton faced teams France 1, France 2 and Switzerland 1 and first to drop were the male riders with Bolton finishing in third, 0.54 seconds behind France 2.
 
Clift quickly made up the 0.54 second differential in a very impressive ride under pressure, battling the two French teams which featured the world’s number two and three ranked female riders. Clift passed France 2 by the halfway point of the course and in a tight battle with France 1 which saw both teams exchange the lead in the final section, with Julia Pereira De Sousa of France 1 crossing the line first, 0.20 seconds ahead of Clift, with Switzerland 1 finishing third.
 
Next for the snowboard cross athletes is the final World Cup of the year in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, where a double event will take place on April 6 and 7. Baff is ranked fourth and Clift 10th on the women’s standings Bolton seventh and Lambert ninth in the men’s rankings.

NSWIS snowboard cross riders have claimed two silver medals at the World Cup in Montafon, Austria. Adam Lambert was second in the individual event and then joined with Josie Baff for another runner up placing in the mixed team event. The double podium performance gives great confidence for the Australian snowboard cross team heading into the World Championships this week in the iconic Swiss resort of St Moritz.
 
Lambert continued his great recent form to make it back-to-back individual World Cup medals, winning every heat from the round of 32 through to the semi-final to secure his place in the big-final.
 
In the big-final medal round, Lambert faced a difficult proposition against three French riders, Loan Bozzolo, Aidan Chollet and Merlin Surget. Lambert was mid-field for most of the final but worked his way into a strong position for the best run to the finish line, overtaking Chollet for second place and the fifth World Cup podium of his career. Bozzolo took the win, Chollett was third and Surgent fourth.
 
2023 World Championship silver medallist Josie Baff advanced through to her fourth big-final of the season, after crossing the line in second place in her quarter and semi-final heats. In the women’s big-final, Baff finished in fourth place, trailing French women Lea Casta in first, Julia Pereira de Sousa in second and Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain in third.
 
Other Australian results included Cameron Bolton 13th, Mia Clift 16th, Abbey Wilson 18th on debut, James Johnstone a personal best 24th, Jarryd Hughes 28th, Declan Dent 37th, Cameron Turner 46th on debut and Matthew Thomas 52nd.
 
Silver for Lambert and Baff in Mixed Team Event
 
In the mixed team event, NSWIS teammates Lambert and Baff combined for Australia’s second team’s medal of the season.
 
The pair moved through the quarter and semi-finals in second place to advance to the big-final against France 1, France 2, and Great Britain 1.
 
First to drop were the male riders and Lambert had a tough heat, almost crashing out in the middle section finishing fourth, 0.44 seconds behind leaders France 1.
 
Baff rode a super strong and fast leg in the final, making up the time differential from the men  early and then battling it out with the two French teams for the win. Baff fell just short of victory in a thrilling photo finish, missing the win by just three hundredths of a second to the France 2 team of Pereira de Sousa and Chollet. Rounding out the podium in third was the France 1 team of Casta and Bozzolo.
 
The two riders from Jindabyne in the NSW Snow Mountains were excited after  their first team medal together.
 
Lambert said, “anytime one of us is on the podium it means the world, it’s the reason we do this and seeing the hardwork paying off is amazing. Confidence breeds confidence, so coming into the World Championships with a few podiums has me believing I have what it takes to get on the box once again.”
 
Baff commented, “achieving another podium in the team event, this time with Lambo was so much fun, we’ve had a few races together already, the first being at the games and it’s very cool to see how far we have come. Going into world champs these two results give me confidence that no matter how the teams are constructed I believe the Aussie team/s will be up for the fight.”
 
Snowboard cross qualifying at the World Championships in St Moritz is on March 27 and the final the next day on March 28, then the mixed team event on the 29th. Representing Australia in the women’s event will be Josie Baff, Mia Clift, and Amber Essex and in the men’s event Adam Lambert, Cameron Bolton, Jarryd Hughes, and Declan Dent.

Triple Winter Olympian Belle Brockhoff has sustained a serious back injury after crashing on the weekend in a Snowboard Cross World Cup race in Georgia.
 
The Snowboard Cross rider was competing in her last race of the day on Saturday when she crashed at relatively high speed and landed on her coccyx.
 
Belle was airlifted from the course and taken to a Tbilisi hospital where examination and imaging revealed a fracture of the L1 vertebrae, with no neurological damage.
 
Belle was then evacuated to Greece for surgery.
 
A member of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia medical team is accompanying and supporting Belle. Belle’s partner has also flown to Greece to be with her.
 
After surgery it is expected that Belle will remain in Athens to rehabilitate for up to two weeks before returning to Australia.
 
Olympic Winter Institute of Australia CEO Geoff Lipshut said: “Currently our medical team are working with the medical emergency service personnel and the hospital in Greece to ensure that Belle receives the best care possible.”
 
“We will reassess options together with Belle following surgery over the next 48 hours.
 
“Belle is in good spirits, and I am very pleased that her partner has been able to fly to Greece to support her during this time,” he said.
 

NSWIS riders Adam Lambert (second on day one) and Cameron Bolton (fourth on day two) have recorded strong performances at the double World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia, where there were crashes in both the men’s and women’s events on the fast and demanding course. Unfortunately leading Australian female riders Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff both fell sustaining injuries.

Day One: Lambert claims first medal of the season
 
Adam Lambert has achieved his first podium performance of the season, finishing second in Gudauri, giving the 27-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains the fourth World Cup podium of his career.
 
Lambert qualified in 15th for finals, and went on to have a sensational day of head-to-head racing winning his round of 32, quarter-final and semi-final to advance through to the top four big-final medal round.
 
In the big-final, Lambert was moving between second and third place for much of the race and was fortunately ahead of a crash on the final feature involving Eliot Grondin of Canada and Elias Leitner of Austria, leaving him in second place behind winner Jakob Dusek on Austria. Grondin finished in third and Leitner fourth.
 
“The men’s big final is always really competitive, I have had a few in my time, I would like to have more, but it’s always fun to race all day and not go out in the early rounds, so I am stoked,” said Lambert.
 
“I think tomorrow I can do what I did today, I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on myself, I feel if I race liked I raced today I have a good chance of doing it again, but anything can happen, it’s boarder cross.”
 
In the women’s event, French riders took out the top two places, with Julia Pereira de Sousa in first, Lea Casta second and Italian Michela Moioli in third.
 
Three-time Olympian Belle Brockhoff was in strong form qualifying in third place and made it through to the small-final. Unfortunately, Brockhoff suffered a crash and was taken away by the medical services team on course, ultimately finishing in eighth place. Brockhoff was moved to a hospital in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she is undergoing further assessment with the support of Australian team medical staff.
 
World number three Josie Baff also crashed in the first round of finals finishing ninth and suffering some bruising. NSWIS teammates Mia Clift were 10th and Amber Essex 26th.
 
Other results included Cameron Bolton ninth, Jarryd Hughes 25th, Declan Dent 37th, Matthew Thomas 48th and James Johnstone 50th.

Day Two: Bolton just misses podium
 
Three-time NSWIS Olympian Cameron Bolton was unlucky not to claim a podium performance after a great day of riding on day two in Gudauri, finishing fourth in a closely contested men’s big-final.
 
Bolton advanced through the rounds of 64, 32 and quarter-finals to reach the semi-final round, where he t had an impressive race to advance in first to the big-final medal round against Julien Tomas of France, Austrian Lukas Pachner and another Frenchman Loan Bozzolo.
 
In the big final, Bolton had the early lead but was passed by Pachner and then Tomas, and then with the pack close, Bolton and Bozzolo both went down near the end of the course. Tomas went on to win, Pachner was second and Bozzolo recovered from the crash to cross the line in third leaving Bolton in fourth and uninjured
 
In the women’s event, NSWIS World Championship medallist Josie Baff did not compete on day two, choosing to recover after her crash on the previous day, Mia Clift made it back-to-back top-10’s and Amber Essex was 19th.
 
Adam Lambert finished 18th, Declan Dent had a personal best 23rd, Jarryd Hughes 27th, Mathew Thomas 36th  and James Johnstone 39th.
 
After seven World Cup events, Baff is ranked third on the women’s standings, Clift is 10th, and Bolton is sixth and Lambert ninth in the men’s rankings.
 
The next World Cup is a double event in Montafon, Austria, on March 21 and 22.

Cameron Bolton and Josie Baff have combined to win Australia’s first ever World Cup gold medal in the snowboard cross mixed team event in Erzurum, Türkiye, giving Baff two medals for the weekend after finishing third in the individual event.
 
In the medal round, the Australia 1 team featuring Bolton and Baff were joined by teams Great Britain 1, Austria 1 and USA 2, the men were first to drop followed by the women.
 
Bolton had a great opening leg, leading from start to finish, crossing the line three hundredths of a second ahead of the USA, giving Baff a small lead heading into the final women’s run.
 
In the final run Baff also managed to maintain the lead from start to finish, holding off a strong challenge from Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes to claim victory by four hundredths of a second. Rounding out the podium in third place was Austria.
 
“Cam and I had been wanting to be in a team for a while and he gave me the perfect amount of lead that I needed. I knew that if I had the track to myself, I was going to be hard to pass, so it worked out well for us today and we are really happy,” said Baff the 22-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“Really happy sharing a team with Josie, we are close friends and teammates. She is riding so well I just wanted to come out and make sure that I rode as well as I could and give her every opportunity to shine, and shine she did,” said the 34-year-old Bolton from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
 
Australia has now won mixed team gold medals at both the World Cup and World Championship levels, Belle Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes were World Champions in 2021.
 
The Australia 2 team featuring Jarryd Hughes and Mia Clift finished in 13th.
 
Next for the snowboard cross riders is a World Cup double event in Gudauri, Georgia, on March 8 and 9.

In a double World Cup event in Erzurum, Türkiye, featuring first an individual and then a mixed team race, NSWIS rider Josie Baff made a great start to the weekend with her third podium of the season in a close final that went right to the finish line.
 
Racing under sunny skies on a long demanding course, Baff started strongly winning her quarter-final and then went through to the big final medal round after crossing the line in second place in the semi-final.
 
In the big-final, Baff was in third for most of the race but came close in the final stages to be just narrowly behind Lea Casta of France in second place by 0.12 seconds, and only 0.19 behind winner Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain.
 
“This has been the most demanding course so far on tour” said the 22-year-old Baff from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“The high altitude has really tested a lot of us with the base level around 2500m. The course was fast too, so I’m happy to end the day with another podium.
 
“Up next is the teams event tomorrow and I’ll be paired with Cam Bolton, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
 
Three other NSWIS teammates also made it through to the women’s quarter-final top-16 stage, Belle Brockhoff was 11th in her first event of the season returning from injury, Mia Clift 13th and Amber Essex 14th.
 
In the men’s event German Leon Ulbricht was victorious, Cam Bolton was Australia’s best riding through to the quarter-finals in 16th. In the round of 32 Jarryd Hughes was 19th and Adam Lambert 26th. Missing finals at the qualification stage were Declan Dent 35th, James Johnstone 41st and Matthew Thomas 49th.
 
After five events, Baff is ranked third on the standings with 310 points, trailing Casta in second on 365 and Bankes out in front on 450. Cam Bolton is fifth on the men’s standings.