Britt Cox wins Mogul Skiing World Title

Britt Cox has won gold at the 2017 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain overnight, eclipsing a strong field to become Australia’s first ever Single Mogul Skiing World Champion.
 
The win caps an incredible season for Cox, who recently won the women’s Mogul Skiing World Cup crown, a second feat no Australian has previously achieved.
 
“All season this was the event in the back of my mind, this was the event that I really wanted to be successful at,” Cox said.
 
“To be successful here and ski the way I did, I couldn’t be happier,” she said. 
 
Cox set the pace early in Wednesday’s event, qualifying in first position with 80.23 points. In the round of 18 she lifted again, scoring 82.82 points to maintain her lead over the 34 strong field. 
 
It was in the round of six where Cox earned her world champion status, scoring a commanding 83.63 points to defeat France’s Perrine Laffont who finished second with 82.51. The reigning Olympic and World Champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada was third with 80.74. 
 
“A lot of people have been asking me what clicked this season and I don’t think anything necessary clicked, it was more a matter of all the training I have done over a number of years finally paying off for me,” Cox said.
 
“One of the things my coaches are huge advocates for are basics and fundamentals and I’ve learnt from them that to be successful consistently you have to master those basics and fundamentals and we’ve worked hard on that for a long time and I think it’s finally starting to pay off for me,” she said. 
 
For Cox, Spain’s mild conditions were a fond reminder of skiing in Australia and she thrived in the environment.
 
“It was so unbelievably warm it felt like skiing back in Australia and I had so much fun today, you couldn’t ask for better weather for the final event of the season,” she said.
 
With the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games now her focus, the two-time Olympian says she has more to give.
 
“In my head I’m watching the runs I’ve done this season and there’s still so much more I want to do with my skiing and I have so many opportunities and training camps to come where I can build upon that and work on my skiing to hopefully put myself in the best position to do the run of my life next year,” she said.  
 
In the men’s event Australia’s Brodie Summers, Matt Graham and Rohan Chapman-Davies did not progress to the round of six instead bowing out in the round of 18. Summers was best ranked of the Aussies finishing in 11th position earning 79.58 points for his final run. Graham’s final run scored 78.09 which ranked him 14th overall and Chapman-Davies was 15th with 76.93 points. 
 
Competing at her first World Championships, 18-year old Jakara Anthony finished 12th in the women’s event, producing a solid 75.45 in the round of 18.  

The Aussies return to Sierra Nevada’s Moguls course on Thursday 9 March to contest the Duals event with the finals live streamed on SSA's website here.

Article courtesy OWIA