There is little doubt that Matt Graham means an awful lot to the Australian moguls team.
His bronze medal, won on Sunday in the duals event, will be celebrated just as vigorously as if it were gold, the final piece of a redemption arc that saw him wrestle with his love for the sport.
A shoulder injury led to Olympic heartache in Beijing and further injury to his neck the year after made him question once again if he even wanted to continue.
But this man, the leader of the squad, fought through, showing the battling brilliance and dedication that has typified what this wildly successful moguls team represents.
Matt Graham overcame so many obstacles to lead this team. (Getty Images: Michael Reaves)
“I mean, I definitely never lost hope and always believed that I was able to be here on the podium,” Graham said.
“But obviously since I won my last Olympic medal it’s been a roller-coaster … it seems like a distant memory, eight years ago.
“But it has been a roller-coaster.”
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Four years ago in the frigidity of Zhangjiakou, Graham attempted what proved to be impossible.
After being ruled out with a shoulder injury early in the World Cup campaign, Graham still felt able to suit up and compete on snow in China, despite having completed most of his injury-hampered training in Brisbane’s water jump.
It was always going to be too much, but Graham refused to accept that he had a solid reason for not meeting his own lofty expectations.
The subsequent year proved it even more so, with a total of four surgeries on his shoulder and collarbone and then, a year and a half ago, a neck fracture.
“Four years ago, it was obviously hard,” Graham said.
“I had to take some time to think about what I wanted to do and decide whether I was going to go on another Olympic cycle.
“And I’m so happy I did because I’m still enjoying it. I love it and now to do that in front of my wife and daughter is just even more special.”
Cooper Woods (left) was first out to celebrate with Matt Graham. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)
If anyone had any doubt about what Graham means to the team, watching Olympic singles champion Cooper Woods go through all the emotions during his teammate’s semifinal in the duals event would have given them a fair clue.
Standing in the mix zone alongside two-time Olympian Taylah O’Neill, Woods yelled and writhed and twisted as Graham bounced his way down the Livigno moguls run, shouting encouragement Graham had no way of hearing.
The sheer anxiety written across his face while waiting for the scores to be announced spoke volumes of the love these two teammates share for each other.
Woods wanted this so much for the man he calls his “older brother”, the man who taught him how to cook spaghetti bolognese as well as become the best moguls skier at these Olympics.
When Cooper Woods won gold, Matt Graham was the first to celebrate with him, too. (Getty Images: Michael Reaves)
“He’s captain of our team, he’s our leader,” Woods said moments before Graham came down the slope.
“And he’s the captain and leader of our team because he works the hardest and he deserves it more than anyone else.
“If you’re not winning, you want your teammate to win and I know Matt wants to win too.
“It’s been an incredible few days for our team and he’s more motivated than ever.”
When it was shown that Graham’s opponent, Ikuma Horishima, would be progressing to the big final and Graham the small, Woods bent over his skis and looked down at the snowy ground, as disappointed for his friend as he himself had been when knocked out in the 1/8 final.
But Woods shook off the disappointment, saying, “He’s still a chance,” before heading off to watch with the rest of the team.
And just as quickly, so did Graham, bouncing back to win the small final and claim a hugely deserved bronze medal.
Matt Graham’s relationship with the Olympics has healed. (Getty: David Davies/PA Images)
Graham may say there was little beauty to be had in dual moguls: “I sort of say, sometimes dual moguls, it’s kind of like you’ve got to be like Buzz Lightyear.
“It’s basically just falling with style and you’re just basically just trying to get to the bottom and make it look good.”
But make it look good, he did.
Graham had to battle on a course where so many people had slid off, but he fell with consummate style through the testing course.
It was enough to win him a second Olympic medal.
And when he did claim his bronze, the ovation he got from his teammates was worthy of a gold.
Matt Graham (left) and Takuya Shimakawa both showing that falling can be stylish. (Getty Images: Michael Reaves)
It was just a small taste of what Graham’s success means to this team.
The Australian flag-bearer at these Games is the elder statesman of the squad, a leader in both word and deed.
After Woods won his unexpected singles gold medal earlier in the week, Graham was at the forefront of his mind, with Woods crediting him with making him the man he is today both on and off the snow.
“It’s very kind of them to say all that,” Graham said.
“I guess this last Olympic cycle I’ve really tried to be more of a leader.
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“I really just tried to lead by example and push them all as much as I could … they don’t like losing to a 31-year-old dad, that’s for sure.
“But I tell you what, I try to put them behind me as much as I can just to keep the fire up their bums.”
At 31 years old, Graham had hinted this would be his last Olympics.
Although he would not publicly commit to anything beyond the end of this World Cup campaign after winning his brilliant bronze medal — the second medal of his Olympic career to go with the silver he won in PyeongChang — Graham can, if he wanted, now leave the Games with his head held high once more.
Matt Graham is now a father and a husband, changing his perspective. (Getty Images: Patrick Smith)
Graham’s priorities off the snow have shifted. A husband and a father now, it would be understandable if he did drift away.
But there is still a deep love for this sport and what it has given him, even if he had to work to rediscover that through years of surgeries and injury rehab.
“If I didn’t get the bronze medal today, I still would have been very satisfied to be here and very happy that I’m here, four years later, still pushing myself and being a part of the team,” Graham said.
“We have such a strong team and obviously the last few days have really showed how good we are.
“I mean, two golds and a bronze medal is pretty crazy in one small little discipline of moguls skiing.”