Jakara Anthony claims historic moguls gold for Australia
Feb 06, 2022·Freestyle
The second of back-to-back moguls events scheduled for this weekend at Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games went down in extraordinary fashion on Sunday at the Genting Snow Park. There Australia’s Jakara Anthony stayed true to her recent 2021/22 World Cup form and came with a huge performance in women’s competition to snag a gold medal after a hugely entertaining showcase of world’s best female mogul skiing.
Anthony led the way through qualifications and then again in all three elimination rounds of finals, never relinquishing her hold on top place. It was a strategic advantage that helped her maintain focus, and what she called her personal competitive “bubble”.
With six skiers in the super final, she was again the last to drop into the Secret Garden Olympic Moguls Course. And she stayed in first after all was said and done.
“I'm so proud that I was able to let myself ski like that,” Anthony said. “It's a real mental game to let yourself do what you are capable of.”
With her exceptional performance on Sunday, the 23-year-old became Australia’s first woman to claim a medal in moguls at the Olympic Winter Games.
"Gold medal was the plan, so I'd say it went according to plan,” Anthony added, “It was pretty tough to try not to get too far ahead of yourself. You have to constantly bring yourself back to the moment and just try to take things one step at a time, which is easier said than done."
Jaelin Kauf (USA) took home silver and the honour of laying down the fastest run of the night. She ripped down the course in 26.37 seconds and put up a score of 80.28 to earn top spot with only Anthony left to compete.
“I was skiing to win every single round. I wanted to walk away with absolutely no regrets,” Kauf said. "I just tried to have so much fun and just keep my heart out at every run. I know that sounds so cheesy, but I wanted to leave it all out there and do everything that I could to make on the podium tonight. I put it out there tonight and I'm so happy, I can't believe I am on the podium."
The Australian moguls specialist did not look at that score and as the last racer in each round did not once watch her rivals.
“I had no idea what scores they were throwing, what times they were putting up, if they crashed or not,” said Anthony, “I was totally in my own bubble, which is the way that I need to have it to perform at my best.”
In the gold medal-winning run, Anthony hit her fastest time of the night at 27.63 seconds. Although slower than Kauf, she ramped up the difficulty of her tricks, adding an extra rotation on the top air to throw a cork 720 mute and including a grab for both jumps. Those differences were rewarded with a winning score of 83.09.
Making her Olympic debut, 19-year-old Anastasiia Smirnova (ROC) rounded out the women’s podium in third place. Despite struggling throughout the season, Smirnova came with another clutch performance, this time on the biggest stage. After claiming two medals at last year’s World Championships in Almaty (KAZ), Smirnova now added an Olympic bronze to her already impressive record of achievements.
At the age of 19 years and 159 days, Smirnova is the third-youngest athlete to claim an Olympic medal in the women’s moguls, after Yelisaveta Kozhevnikova’s (EUN) silver in 1992 (18 years, 48 days) and Perrine Laffont’s (FRA) gold in 2018 (19 years, 106 days).
It was a disappointing showing for the No.1 and No.2 on the World Cup circuit. Perrine Laffont the defending Olympic champion and winner of four straight World Cup titles, finished fourth, while the current moguls World Cup leader Anri Kawamura (JPN) was fifth.
The freestyle skiing action at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games now moves on to the aerials venue, where the Aerials Mixed Team event will make it Olympic debut on February 10. The women’s individual competitions are scheduled to take place on February 13-14, with men following up the next days on February 15-16.
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