Jakara Anthony looked invincible until she wasn’t, as the cruel format of the freestyle moguls final left the outstanding skier in the field off the podium in Milano Cortina.
The razor-sharp margin between success and failure on the rock-hard ice and snow of the Winter Olympics triggered the demise of the defending gold medallist on Thursday morning, a symbol of Australia’s struggle in the Italian Alps as the team is still searching for a medal after almost a week of competition.
The 27-year-old was top in qualifying, and recorded the event’s highest score in the final’s first round. But that didn’t count for anything when Anthony couldn’t stay on course in the all-or-nothing ultimate run.
The sentiments of Australia’s downcast flag-bearer afterwards, that she was “bummed”, might easily apply to much of the team over the Winter Games’ opening days.
Things have not gone to plan for those in yellow and green at Milano Cortina. Two Covid cases among staff at the team’s training base in the days before competition began put officials and athletes on edge and triggered some to skip the pre-Games gathering entirely.
The medical emergencies have only escalated. Aerials veteran Laura Peel sustained what was described as a “significant knee injury” days before the opening ceremony, and is doing everything she can to recover in time to compete at a fourth Olympics.
Skier Daisy Thomas landed awkwardly on the last jump of training last week and further damaged her previously injured right knee. The 18-year-old pulled out of the slopestyle event but hopes to compete in the big air discipline.
Cam Bolton’s broken neck in training on Monday had him airlifted out before his snowboard cross event had even begun. And snowboarder Misaki Vaughan hit her head during training and missed her halfpipe competition after failing a head injury assessment.
Approaching the halfway mark of the Games on Saturday, Australia is still looking for its first medal, despite several near misses. Anthony was unfortunate that her one error – losing control down a hill she had already conquered twice – proved catastrophic, leaving the reigning Olympic champion last among the eight finalists.
Snowboarder Val Guseli left his final rotation a few degrees short in his unlikely bid for a medal in a dramatic men’s big air. Australia also had two snowboarders in the women’s big air final for the first time, and Tess Coady finished seventh.
Guseli will contend for a medal again in the snowboard halfpipe final on Saturday morning alongside top qualifier and gold medal favourite Scotty James. The 31-year-old James, alongside Anthony, entered the Games as Australia’s best medal hope, and his performance in qualifying on Thursday morning won praise from American snowboard great Shaun White.
“Scotty James had the momentum but I thought he’d run out of it before the Games,” White told Channel Nine. “Now I think he’s hitting [his peak] right as the Games are here.” White added it looked like the future of the event was “going to Australia”.
It’s high praise for a flat country with patchy snow, and one whose reputation on the slopes has been a work-in-progress. Yet Australia’s medal tally has never gone backwards since a first medal was secured, a bronze by the short-track relay team in 1994. At Beijing in 2022, the team won a record four medals, including gold for Anthony.
Despite a lack of medals so far in Milano Cortina, there remains high hopes for the 2026 cohort. Australia’s chef de mission, Alisa Camplin, hailed the “breadth and depth” of the team before competition began, highlighting their recent performance in international competition. Eleven athletes won World Cup medals in recent months, and many of them are still to compete, including Anthony in the dual moguls and Indra Brown, the 16-year-old ski phenomenon.
The team may be on an upward trajectory as a winter sports nation, but they largely remain on the fringe of the Australian consciousness. Brown was one of many to turn to fundraising in the lead-up to the Games, raising almost $31,000 via the Australian Sports Foundation. Ski-mountaineer Lara Hamilton brought in $40,000 and bobsledder Sarah Blizzard $21,000.
It’s a reminder these athletes are far from professional, and despite support from the AOC and the federal government – including an extra $2m pledged last year – they must make the most of a limited opportunity to connect with fans back home in this blink-and-you-miss-it two weeks.
Within a winter sport landscape that is foreign to many Australians, winning is the one thing that has universal appeal. So while every moment matters as these Games begin their long countdown, on the snow and ice some medals would be nice.
