LIVIGNO: Jakara Anthony has become Australia’s first multiple Winter Olympics gold medallist, recovering from a disastrous super final collapse in the single moguls to win the first ever Olympic dual moguls event.
Anthony has now secured her legacy as the nation’s greatest skier, winning gold medals at two straight Games and becoming one of the most dominant athletes in winter sports.
Her victory, which ensured Milano Cortina 2026 will go down as Australia’s best ever Winter Games was all the more remarkable due to the absolute devastation she felt after she made a mistake in the single moguls super final and let a gold medal slip through her fingers. She had dominated the early stages of competition.
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“That was really heartbreaking, the singles,” Anthony told Australian media, including Wide World of Sports, after being presented with her gold medal.
“I really think I came in here with such a great chance of taking that top step, but elite sport, you know, it’s hundredths of a second, one mistake and it was all over.
“To be able to turn that around with my support crew around me has been a pretty massive feat I think and it’s made this gold medal even more special.”
Despite a stoic public reaction to the biggest disappointment of her career, it was clear that Anthony hit a mental low after the singles, with her coach and support staff spending three days trying to pick her back up.
“There was a lot of tears, a lot of conversations had,” she said.
“And then we got back out on the course, had some training and refocused, worked out what I needed to do for duals, what I needed to do on a different course and how we were going to approach it and just trying to really focus on those parts and take each run as they came.”
Anthony’s coach, Pete McNeil, was on the verge of tears as he went back over the past few days and explained how deep the superstar had to dig to pull herself out of an emotional hole.
Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.
Gold medallist Jakara Anthony celebrates after the women’s freestyle skiing dual moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Â AP
“Singles day was absolutely devastating,” McNeil, who also coached Cooper Woods to moguls gold, confirmed.
“She was in unbelievable form, we had great training coming in, she’d done everything she needed to do to back up her gold medal (from Beijing), then just tiny, in the blink of an eye, skis crossed and she had to pull out of the course.
“The action that happened was the same as when she broke her collarbone (in 2024), so maybe even a little bit triggering.
“That night, just sleepless, Jak was mortified. The coaching team had to rally to come out for the boys the next day, so really, really challenging after such an emotional day.
” … It was really, really challenging.”
Gold medalist Australia’s Jakara Anthony celebrates after defeating United States’ Jaelin Kauf in the women’s freestyle skiing dual moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)Â AP
Pushed to paint a picture of what the three days between Anthony’s two events looked like, he said it was all about finding ways to restore belief.
McNeil said they didn’t speak in terms of Anthony being the best in the world, but pointed to his heart and explained to her that everything she needed was inside her chest.
“The main thing I did was just pour out love and support,” added the man who has coached Anthony since she was 12 and full-time since she was 15.
“I tried to show her that Australia was pouring out love and support and was just as devastated for her. It wasn’t, her result is not a reflection of who she is, or the work she puts in, it’s just a moment on a day.
“And, that we could come back out and she could show the world that she could do it.”
The pep talk worked.
From her first race against South African 30th seed Malica Malherbe, Anthony was imperious. She was first across the finish line in each of her five races and won on the scoreboard, which assesses technique, turns and the tricks performed on the course’s two airs, by significant margins in each contest – the closest being 20-15 wins in her quarter-final and the clash for gold and silver.
Along the way, she beat some of the best credentialed mogul skiers in the world, including the single moguls gold medallist from just days ago, American Elizabeth Lemley, in the semi-final and another American, silver medallist in the singles, Jaelin Kauf, in the final.
Anthony’s victory ensured Kauf, the world No.1 in dual moguls, will go home with two silver medals, with her Australian rival reasserting herself as the undisputed champion of the sport.
“She showed so much composure today … that wasn’t an easy win and she just locked in and went for it and said ‘this is my day’,” Lydia Lassila said on Nine’s coverage.
“… She is the GOAT of Australian mogul skiing.”