SNOWBOARD: At her debut World Cup appearance, slopestyle snowboarder Tess Coady is now preparing for her first ever final after qualifying fourth in her heat at Mammoth Mountain Resort, USA.

The 16-year-old’s best run scored 72.66 to edge out Ty Walker from the United States by 0.33 for the final spot in the eight-woman final.

Coady was thrilled with her performance, which exceeded all her expectations.

“I really had no expectations going into the World Cup today other than to come away with a positive experience and that I definitely did,” she said after her qualifying run.

Heading into the final, the St Kilda local is hoping to squeeze as much positivity out of the mountain as possible and feels humbled to share the stage with her competitors.

“I’m feeling super excited to get to ride the course again and with some of my favourite female riders.

“My game plan will be to just try and put down a solid run.”

The final is brimming with talented youngsters. Coady is only the second youngest, with 15-year-old New Zealander Zoi Sadowski Synnott competing alongside her.

With youth comes enthusiasm.

“It’s super exciting riding amoung some other young females, everyone seems to push each other.

“The vibe is also a lot of fun up the top of the course.”

And while Coady prepares for the biggest moment of her burgeoning career to date, the achievements of fellow Victorian Snowboarder Scotty James have not gone unnoticed.

“Heck yeah!

“It’s so good that it’s becoming more common to hear of more Australian athletes in finals, across all Winter sports.

“It’s really building up the Australian team's reputation.”

A reputation which Coady is already helping to enhance.

The finals begin 8am Saturday AEDT with live scores available here>>>

Nathan Lange
olympics.com.au