With the Winter Olympics less than two months away, mogul skiers Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham have given Australian fans plenty to get excited about.
The duo claimed gold at the World Cup in Ruka, Finland on Monday as preparations for the Milan-Cortina Games, starting 6 February, reach the home stretch.
With back-to-back events on the challenging course, Graham, who finished fourth 24 hours earlier led at every stage.
The 2018 Olympic silver medallist won the super final ahead of the opening World Cup winner, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, with Canada’s Julien Viel third.
“To get a double gold with Jakara – it’s massive. We’re not a skiing nation. We’re a beach nation, so how the hell does this happen?” said the 31-year-old New South Welshman after securing his fifth World Cup victory.
It was a triumphant return to World Cup competition for Anthony, in just her second start since a collarbone injury ended her 2024–2025 season early in Sweden.
She qualified for the medal round in second spot and improved to secure her 24th career World Cup victory, and finishing ahead of American pair Olivia Giaccio and Jaelin Kauf.
“It’s pretty special,” the 27-year-old Victorian said. “It’s probably nearly a year to the day of getting injured. I’ve been out since then, so this is a pretty special one.”
After placing sixth the day before, Anthony was also relieved with her result.
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“Yesterday was a bummer, just didn’t quite nail that last one,” she said. “To get some redemption tonight is pretty special. Took a few learnings about how the course developed. Been a while since I skied a comp, so I had to remember that, and make those adjustments tonight.”
Fellow Australians Charlotte Wilson finished 13th, Jackson Harvey 18th and Emma Bosco 20th, while Cooper Woods and George Murphy failed to complete the course.
Following the cancellation of the scheduled World Cup in Georgia before Christmas the tour shifts to North America in early January.
