For Australia to have the top moguls skier in the world is remarkable enough, but to have three in the top eight is nothing short of wild. Australia is largely a snow-free country, and before Thursday had only ever won six gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
That changed when Cooper Woods won the country’s seventh gold at the Milano Cortina Games, pipping all-time legend Mikaël Kingsbury on a tiebreaker in the men’s moguls final. Australia is in awe of Woods’ achievement, considering he’s never even won a World Cup event in his career.
Cooper Woods won the gold, but Australia also had three men in the top eight of the moguls. Image:L Getty/Winter Olympics
But an incredible detail largely missed in the triumph is the performance of teammates Matt Graham and Jackson Harvey. Graham finished fifth in the final, while Harvey was eighth in his Olympics debut. For Australia to have three of the top eight athletes in a snow sport is mind-blowing.
Matt Graham was over the moon for Cooper Woods. Image: Getty
Woods has just one podium in 51 World Cup events throughout his career, although he did show his capabilities when he finished sixth at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. On Thursday, the 25-year-old delivered on the biggest sporting stage of all to beat two legends of the sport in Canada’s Kingsbury and Akuma Horishima of Japan.
Compatriot Graham – who carried the Aussie flag at the opening ceremony – hoisted Woods onto his back in a brilliant show of camaraderie. “There’s something when there’s so much pressure where you can just let it all go and embrace it,” Woods said as he lapped up his glory. “Happened in Beijing too, where I was, ‘I got nothing to lose let’s have a go at it'”.
Cooper Woods adds to Aussie mastery of moguls at Olympics
Even more remarkable, Australia now has three gold medals in Olympics moguls history. Dale Begg-Smith saluted in Turin in 2006, while Jakara Anthony won gold in Beijing in 2022.
Woods’ triumph came after Anthony’s heartbreaking mishap in the women’s final just 24 hours earlier. “It’s something you dream of, day in, day out, as a kid, through the hard days, through the good days,” he said.
“It’s an absolute journey, and a lot of people don’t get to be in this position. But you know what, I’m very proud of the hard work and the sacrifice and the moments that I’ve shared with people around the world and more importantly, my family. I don’t spend a lot of time back home in Australia, we don’t have a lot of snow, so it’s everyone’s medal, not just mine.”