Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Melissa Woods

Snowing medals: Jakara glory secures record gold haul

Jakara Anthony, draped in the Australian flag, after another day of Winter Olympic glory. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Surpassing previous Olympic medal hauls by Australian teams with the Milan-Cortina Games only at the halfway mark, team chef de mission Alisa Camplin has hailed the performance as "mind-blowing".

Jakara Anthony overtook snowboarder Scotty James as the country's most decorated Winter Olympian when she clinched the first-ever dual moguls gold medal on Saturday.

It was a courageous performance after the Beijing champion was unable to defend her title in the individual event three days earlier after a slip-up in the medal round after starting hot favourite.

Cooper Woods
Cooper Woods grabbed gold in the moguls - and has chance of winning a second in the dual event. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Anthony's medal brought the tally to four with a week still to go - her gold adding to those won by her moguls teammate Cooper Woods and snowboard cross racer Josie Baff as the well as the silver annexed by five-time Olympian James in the halfpipe.

Australia had won four medals in Beijing, but only one gold.

Baff
Josie Baff also struck gold in the snowboard cross final at Livigno. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

"We had four medals in Beijing and back in 2010 we had two golds and a silver and we now have three golds and a silver, so we've certainly surpassed previous performances," said Camplin, herself a two-time aerials medallist.

"It was hard last night seeing Scotty James, he was gunning for gold and until today he was our most decorated Olympian with bronze and two silver and now Jakara winning two golds, we're in rarified air. It's unprecedented times for winter sport.

There are more medal chances to come with Woods and Matt Graham leading the charge in the men's dual moguls on Sunday, while Bree Walker is ranked world No.2 in the monobob and teenage freeskier Indra Brown has won a World Cup in the halfpipe.

While Laura Peel was forced out of the aerials after rupturing her ACL, fellow veteran Danielle Scott could also podium.

"Every team is unique and we've just grown over time - the inter-generational sharing of experience and culture and wisdom and ongoing funding from the government, it's enabled us to build and build and build," Camplin said.

Camplin's winners
Chef de mission Alisa Camplin says the Aussie team has been "everything we could have dreamed of." (Jay Kogler/AAP PHOTOS)

"It's everything we could have dreamed of. We had a great team, highly-credentialed and we're only halfway through and we've had our most historic result so I'm pretty overwhelmed to be honest.

"When we looked at the schedule of the way the Games was set up, there was potential for it to happen.

"You're talking about serious competitors. None of these have been good luck -- they've all been hard work and preparation.

"We've worked really hard as a winter sport community and industry to deliver those kinds of results.

"Across all clusters we're just in this amazing space of teamwork and culture of good people and excellence and I hope Australia can feel it and that we're inspiring everyone back home because what's happening is pretty special."

AUSTRALIA'S MEDAL-WINNING WINTER OLYMPICS

1994, Lillehammer: 1 bronze

1998, Nagano: 1 bronze

2002, Salt Lake City: 2 gold

2006, Torino: 1 gold: 1 bronze

2010, Vancouver: 2 gold, 1 silver

2014, Sochi: 2 silver, 1 bronze

2018, PyeongChang: 2 silver, 1 bronze

2022, Beijing: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze

2026, Milan-Cortina: 3 gold, 1 silver

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.