World cup moguls silver for Jakara Anthony and aerials top fives in Finland, a winning start for Curlers in their final Olympic qualification tournament, cross country top 10s, and personal bests for skeleton racers headline a massive weekend for Aussie winter athletes.
World Cup Moguls Silver for Jakara Anthony
Jakara Anthony had a silver start to her World Cup campaign, finishing on the podium in the first event of the season in Ruka, Finland.
After qualifying for finals in third place with a score of 74.71, Anthony stepped it up in finals, performing her new d-spin 720 jump on the top air for the first time in competition to advance to the super final medal round with an improved score of 78.17 in second place.
In the top-six medal round, Anthony put down another great run to score 78.17, just 0.34 points behind event winner Olivia Giaccio of the USA, with her teammate Kai Owens rounding out the podium in third place.
Britt Cox (18th), Taylah O’Neill (25th) and Sophie Ash (27th) were also in action for Australia, while on the men’s Brodie Summers (7th) and Matt Graham (10th) both had top 10 finishes, with James Matheson in 22nd.
Curlers Kick Off Qualification Campaign With Win
Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt kicked off their campaign in the final Olympic Qualification Event in Leeuwarden, Netherlands with a 7-3 win against Turkey.
With the final two mixed doubles Beijing 2022 Curling quotas up for grabs, the Australians started the round robin section strongly, with a 4-score 7th end sealing their victory.
The pair take on Germany tonight (AEST) in their second tournament matchup.
Follow along with live scores and results here, and find out more about Dean and Tahli’s road to Beijing here
Aerials Top 5 for Peel and Scott in World Cup Double Header
Aussie aerial skiers opened their World Cup season with a double-header event in Ruka, Finland, with Laura Peel and Danielle Scott both coming away with a top 5 finish.
In the opening event, reigning World Champion Peel showed her class, as the only female competitor jumping triples saw her qualify for the final in top spot. A slight error on the landing saw her finish in fourth, but shows great signs for the upcoming season.
The next day the athletes were back on the slopes, with Danielle Scott finishing the best of the Australians in the second event, finishing fifth with her double twisting double back somersault scoring 89.18.
Cross Country Top 10 for Yeaton
Australia’s largest ever Cross Country Team to compete at a Continental Cup race outside of Australia lined up at the OPA Continental Cup / Swiss Cup in Goms, Switzerland this week to kick start their 2021/2022 Northern Hemisphere season.
Jessica Yeaton had a great opening to her racing season in Europe with a solid 8th place in the women's 10km Classic, just 13 seconds outside the top five, as well as 10th in the Freestyle sprint event and 14th in the Freestyle mass start distance event.
Casey Wright and Aimee Watson also had strong results, finishing 20th and 21st one second apart from each other in the women’s 10km, while Zana Evans finished 26th in the Freestyle sprint in her first time racing in the Open division.
On the men’s side, Seve de Campo was the top finisher in the 15km Classic in 41st place, with Phillip Bellingham in 49th. In the Freestyle sprint, Lars Young Vik pulled out a great performance to be fastest Aussie in the Open men time trial, finishing 33rd less than a second outside qualifying for the finals.
The team will head to the World Cup event in Davos, Switzerland this weekend.
European Podium for Bobsled Bree
‘Bobsled’ Bree Walker continued her successful 2021 season, claiming gold in the Monobob European Cup race in Winterberg, Germany.
Focusing on the track in Winterberg, Walker elected to forego the World Cup event on the same weekend in Altenberg with great results, finishing first ahead of Germany’s Lisa Buckwitz and France’s Margot Boch.
At the Altenberg World Cup event, Ashleigh Werner finished 17th in the monobob, before teaming with Kiara Reddingius in the 2-woman bobsleigh, also finishing in 17th.
Narracott and Timmings Achieve Skeleton PBs in Altenberg
Skeleton racers Jackie Narracott and Nick Timmings continued their World Cup season in Altenberg Germany, with both athletes recording personal bests.
Narracott finished in 15th with her quickest time ever (58.66) on the Altenberg track for a 2-run total of 1.57.60, while Timmings achieved his best ever World Cup result of 19th with a flying 1.54.19 combined time.
The results have both athletes in strong positions to earn quotas for Australia at Beijing 2022 as they continue their World Cup season this weekend in Winterberg, Germany.
Small Takes On Opening Alpine World Cup
Dual Olympian Greta Small opened her alpine skiing World Cup campaign in Lake Lousie, Canada, with three days of racing in tough conditions.
Finishing 50th after her first downhill run, Small improved to 44th on her second run, in the downhill event won by Italy’s Sofia Goggia. In the Super G event, Small finished 43rd.
Small will continue her World Cup season at St Moritz, Switzerland this weekend.
Matty Cox Gets Big Air in Steamboat
Snowboarder Matty Cox was flying the Australian flag at the Big Air World Cup event in Steamboat, Colorado.
After a first run of 33.50, Cox improved to score 45.25 in his second run to finish the event in 38th place.
