Golden girl Anthony eyes more moguls glory

NEW Olympic champion Jakara Anthony will take off the COVID-19 mask for some gold medal celebrations only briefly, with the Australian still hunting moguls World Cup glory.

Anthony is the toast of Australia after snapping a 12-year Winter Olympics gold medal drought with a dominant victory in the women’s moguls on Sunday night.

It was the country’s sixth Winter Games gold and pushed Australia to sixth on the overall Olympic medal tally, after snowboarder Tess Coady also won a bronze in a historic day for the team.

“It’s all still really sinking in but I was so grateful to be able to celebrate with my team last night,” Anthony said.

“And to share it with Tess, with us both getting podiums on the same day, it was really special to be able to share that experience with her.”

Due to COVID-19 protocols the athletes have to leave China 48 hours after their event, and Anthony is counting down to share her golden spoils with her family in Barwon Heads.

No international fans are permitted at the Games, which the 23-year-old said was “sad”, but helped it feel more like a normal competition.

Anthony doesn’t plan to kick up her heels for long as she will head back to Europe in early March.

She will compete in a World Cup event in Chiesa in Italy on March 12 and then head to Megeve in France the following weekend for the final competition of the season.

Presently third in the standings, winning the overall World Cup title would be another feather in her cap.

“When I go back home I will still probably be taking most of the COVID precautions because I will be continuing on the World Cup tour,” Anthony said.

“I will be flying so I’ve still got to stay negative so the mask won’t be coming off for a little while still.”

Australia has now four moguls medals, with Dale Begg-Smith winning the other gold among a haul of 17 overall, and Anthony said the country had proved it was a Winter Olympics player.

“We’ve had spectacular results for years and years in freestyle, not just in the Olympics but in World Cup and world championships and I think what a lot of people don’t realise is that the facilities we have in Australia are world class,” she said.

“The moguls course in Perisher that we train at, Toppa’s Dream, is one of the most difficult courses that we ski on and in a non-COVID year we have nearly the whole World Cup tour fly out just to train on that.

“The new water ramp facility in Brisbane means we have a lot more access to training on home soil.

“We’re actually set up really well in Australia and the opportunities for athletes coming through are getting better and better.

“It’s just about increasing the exposure that winter sports gets in Australia.”