Snowboard Cross rider Josie Baff has become the second Australian gold medallist at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
The 23-year-old who is currently world number two on the FIS Snowboard Cross world rankings delivered an outstanding performance to come through today’s heats and land on top of the Olympic podium, becoming Australia’s eighth Winter Olympic champion.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking
It is the first time since Vancouver 2010 that Australia has celebrated two gold medals at a Games following Cooper Woods’ mogul victory on Thursday. It is also Australia’s first women’s Snowboard Cross Olympic medal.
“It's very amazing. I would like to say that I can't believe it… but I kind of can,” Baff said.
“I feel like I deserve it. I've put in a lot of hard work, so I knew I could do it but to actually have the medal around my neck is very, very cool.
“There's been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears – probably not as much blood – and it's definitely something that I've been working towards for a very long time and my team has been helping me achieve that every step of the way,” the Jindabyne local said.
After placing 17th in the time trial, Baff had a nervous photo finish to progress through the quarterfinal. She pulled off a fantastic inside manouvre in the semifinal to go from third to first.
In the Big Final, the 2020 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist was up against stiff competition with the 2014 Olympic champion Eva Adamczykova (Czech Republic) and 2018 Olympic gold medallist Michela Moioli (Italy) both in the final, alongside the 2024 Youth Olympic champion, Noemie Wiedmar (Switzerland).
In the final, a mid-race move to take the lead over Wiedmar proved decisive as Baff held onto the lead for the reminder of the race to cross the finishing line in first place, with Adamczykova in second and Moioli in third.
After an uncharacteristic error in the time trial which saw Baff sitting in the middle of the pack, she knocked out a number of her toughest competitors on her journey to the Big Final.
“If you want to win, you have to beat everyone eventually anyway... so you have to be locked in from the get-go,” Baff said.
"After I went through that first heat, I guess I kind of relaxed a little bit, and each heat after that gets progressively easier for me – I get into that headspace and I activate a different part of myself – the real competitor in me comes out.”
Baff said seeing Cooper Woods' golden performance in the moguls the day before gave her extra motivation heading into her own event.
“I know him and his family super well and seeing that yesterday definitely sparked a little fire in me. I thought if he can do it, I can do it too!"
The 23-year-old who is currently world number two on the FIS Snowboard Cross world rankings delivered an outstanding performance to come through today’s heats and land on top of the Olympic podium, becoming Australia’s eighth Winter Olympic champion.
Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking
It is the first time since Vancouver 2010 that Australia has celebrated two gold medals at a Games following Cooper Woods’ mogul victory on Thursday. It is also Australia’s first women’s Snowboard Cross Olympic medal.
“It's very amazing. I would like to say that I can't believe it… but I kind of can,” Baff said.
“I feel like I deserve it. I've put in a lot of hard work, so I knew I could do it but to actually have the medal around my neck is very, very cool.
“There's been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears – probably not as much blood – and it's definitely something that I've been working towards for a very long time and my team has been helping me achieve that every step of the way,” the Jindabyne local said.
After placing 17th in the time trial, Baff had a nervous photo finish to progress through the quarterfinal. She pulled off a fantastic inside manouvre in the semifinal to go from third to first.
In the Big Final, the 2020 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist was up against stiff competition with the 2014 Olympic champion Eva Adamczykova (Czech Republic) and 2018 Olympic gold medallist Michela Moioli (Italy) both in the final, alongside the 2024 Youth Olympic champion, Noemie Wiedmar (Switzerland).
In the final, a mid-race move to take the lead over Wiedmar proved decisive as Baff held onto the lead for the reminder of the race to cross the finishing line in first place, with Adamczykova in second and Moioli in third.
After an uncharacteristic error in the time trial which saw Baff sitting in the middle of the pack, she knocked out a number of her toughest competitors on her journey to the Big Final.
“If you want to win, you have to beat everyone eventually anyway... so you have to be locked in from the get-go,” Baff said.
"After I went through that first heat, I guess I kind of relaxed a little bit, and each heat after that gets progressively easier for me – I get into that headspace and I activate a different part of myself – the real competitor in me comes out.”
Baff said seeing Cooper Woods' golden performance in the moguls the day before gave her extra motivation heading into her own event.
“I know him and his family super well and seeing that yesterday definitely sparked a little fire in me. I thought if he can do it, I can do it too!"
Olympic debutant Abbey Willson bowed out in the round of eight and Mia Clift put in a strong performance but was not able to make it past the quarter finals.
While disappointed she couldn’t push into the later rounds herself, Clift said she was overwhelmed with admiration for her teammate, Josie.
“She can do it all – strategy and technical – she's next level,” she said. “There were tears at the finish for sure, and I'm sure there'll be a lot more.
“She's so hard working and such a nice girl.
“I'm super happy for Josie, but definitely disappointed myself... it's not what I planned or expected."
For 19-year-old Wilson, the rookie was pleased with her individual performance and relished the opportunity to celebrate with her sister and Australian Olympic teammate Charlotte (Moguls) on the finish line.
“I've already had a little cry with my sister. She was the first person I talked to, and she came up to me and just said, ‘We're Olympians!'”
“I'm very stoked that I got to debut with her and have our whole family here, because being Australian, they don't get to see us compete very often, so it's very special,” Wilson said.
Australia’s Snowboard Cross Team will have another shot at a podium when two men and two women return for the Mixed Teams Snowboard Cross event on Sunday 15 February.
IMAGE COPYRIGHT CHRIS HOCKING
While disappointed she couldn’t push into the later rounds herself, Clift said she was overwhelmed with admiration for her teammate, Josie.
“She can do it all – strategy and technical – she's next level,” she said. “There were tears at the finish for sure, and I'm sure there'll be a lot more.
“She's so hard working and such a nice girl.
“I'm super happy for Josie, but definitely disappointed myself... it's not what I planned or expected."
For 19-year-old Wilson, the rookie was pleased with her individual performance and relished the opportunity to celebrate with her sister and Australian Olympic teammate Charlotte (Moguls) on the finish line.
“I've already had a little cry with my sister. She was the first person I talked to, and she came up to me and just said, ‘We're Olympians!'”
“I'm very stoked that I got to debut with her and have our whole family here, because being Australian, they don't get to see us compete very often, so it's very special,” Wilson said.
Australia’s Snowboard Cross Team will have another shot at a podium when two men and two women return for the Mixed Teams Snowboard Cross event on Sunday 15 February.
IMAGE COPYRIGHT CHRIS HOCKING
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