Triple podium for Australia's mogul skiers and seventh win for Cox
Published Mon 27 Feb 2017
In an extraordinary competition at the final stop of the Mogul Skiing World Cup tour at Thaiwoo Park, China, Britt Cox has stood on the podium for the ninth time in ten events by taking another gold in the dual moguls after a singles bronze alongside a Men’s double podium when Brodie Summers and Matt Graham won silver and bronze.
"I'm so excited" Cox said holding her moguls crystal globe in what’s been a superb season for the 22-year-old. "First win at the first event in Ruka, and now another one at the last event in China to wrap up the season. I'm just so happy. I am pumped to be on another podium and even more excited to share it with Brodie and Matt. Matt, Brodie and I live and train together almost year-round, so it felt really special for all of us to be on the podium together. It's motivating for the team," she said.
Cox’s incredible achievements are certainly the biggest in what has been huge season for an Aussie snow sports contingent that has had their best-ever World Cup season. With her overall win, Cox joins an elite group of Aussie athletes that includes Dale Begg-Smith, Lydia Lassila, and Jacqui Cooper. Not bad for an athlete who had never won a World Cup competition before this season.
Brodie Summers has been a man on an upward path this season, making four finals in the season a duals bronze medal, culminating tonight in his first World Cup podium – a silver.
“I felt good all day,” Summers said. “The best part was sharing the podium with Matt. I was really chuffed about that – and seeing lots of Australian flags on the podiums. The course is fun but also very tricky. The most noticeable point of difference is the spacing on the turns... these are by far and away the tightest moguls I have ever skied. It was a tough course and to be rewarded at the end of the day is just great.”
Summers acknowledged the team effort that is the glue behind the Australian mogul skiing success.
“The success was really about the entire team executing the game plan. We stuck to the plan and it paid off.”
Matt Graham took the bronze behind Summers and did so by coming from 11th place in the qualifying, making his fourth podium for the season and appearing in all bar one Super Final, earning him a reputation as one of the most consistent skiers on the World Cup tour.
“I’m feeling really confident. One of my goals at the beginning of the season was consistency. I’ve made the top six everywhere except Lake Placid,” Graham said.
“I had a good feeling at the top of the course. There were some dicey runs in practise and to ski up from 11th place in the qualifying to second in Final 1 was really satisfying. If you qualify low, it is unusual to make the Super Final. I knew that first final had to be goo and I laid it down. In the Super Final, I made some mistakes in the middle section but I’m super happy for Brodie and had my fingers crossed for him during his run. It’s great.”
Success was also tasted by 19-year-old NSWIS skier Claudia Gueli who made her first final and finished in 13th place.
“It was really cool to see Claudia make her first final today. She was ripping this course so that was very well deserved,” Britt Cox said.
Other Australian results in Thaiwoo include Krystle Yin 19th, Madi Himbury 22nd, James Matheson 18th and Rohan Chapman-Davies 19th.
In the dual moguls, Cox stormed through the tight course to claim her season's seventh win, eliminating Tess Johnson (USA), Alex-Ann Gagnon (CAN), Andi Naude (CAN) on her way to the big final. Once there she put together another solid run, though her victory was essentially ensured when her opponent Perrine Laffont (FRA)- winner of Saturday's single moguls competition - struggled to stay compact and went out of the course early after the start. Cox has already created history by becoming the first Australian female to win a Mogul Skiing World Cup title, which she secured last week in Japan.
In the men's it was Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) who took back-to-back victories on the future 2022 Olympic course in Thaiwoo, making it also his seventh win in a row with Summers coming fifth and Graham ninth.
For the sixth consecutive year Kingsbury was awarded with both moguls and FIS Freestyle Skiing overall World Cup crystal globe highlighting yet another record-breaking season for Canada's finest mogul skier of all time.
The world's best moguls skiers now head to World Championships in Sierra Nevada (SPA), where they will compete in moguls and dual moguls competition on Wednesday and Thursday, March 8-9.