Cowan & Turner selected for Junior World Championships

A pair of Winter Youth Olympians will fly the Australian flag when the Ski Cross Junior World Championships gets underway in France later this week.

Gangwon 2024 flagbearer Duncan Cowan will be joined by Dakota Turner in the event to be staged at the Isola 2000 resort in the southern French Alps.

Cowan, 18, has won five out of six races contested in the Nor-Am Cup this season, and holds an unassailable lead on the season standings. He will take out the Nor-Am Cup for 2024/25 despite missing the last two races while he competes in France this week.

The Sydney-sider combined with Turner for 14th place in the Ski Cross Team event at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Korea, an event they will again contest together this weekend.

Turner, 18, has been training and racing heavily in Europe since January.

She contested her first European Cup races in Italy last month before gaining more experience at EC level in Austria where she qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time.

While it will be Turner’s first Junior World Championships, Cowan made his debut two years ago at Passo San Pellegrio in Italy where he scored a top 10 result in the Team event alongside Jesse Quinn.

“Duncan and Dakota are really stepping up in terms of the competition they’re facing by now racing in Nor-Ams and ECs, which is the stepping stone to becoming a seasoned World Cup competitor,” said Shawn Fleming, Snow Australia’s Alpine & Ski Cross Director. “This is a wonderful opportunity for both athletes to measure themselves against their peers from around the world.

“Junior Worlds has been the end goal for both athletes all season long, so it’s exciting after such a long season for them to reach this point, and we wish them both all the best of luck.”

2025 Ski Cross Junior World Championships
4-6 April 2025 | Isola 2000 FRA

Friday 4 April - Men’s & Women’s Qualifying
Saturday 5 April - Men’s & Women’s Finals
Sunday 6 April - Ski Cross Mixed Team Final