Jakara takes on the world’s best

Barwon Heads’ athlete Jakara Anthony can’t remember a time in her life when she couldn’t ski.

The daughter of two snow enthusiasts, Jakara learned to ski at the age of three and has since established herself as one of the best mogul skiiers in the world.

Her childhood dream was to compete for Australia and win an Olympic medal.

She came close in the 2018 games where she finished fourth and now the countdown is on to represent her country again, with less than 100 days until the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.

On Monday the 23-year-old farewelled family and friends to head overseas for the start of the Olympic season.

There have been fewer official competitions due to the pandemic and a different training regime, but Jakara is feeling confident with her preparation.

“Training has been really good this year. We normally head overseas but obviously with the COVID lockdowns we weren’t able to do that for our training camps,” she explained.

“But we did get the season up in Perisher, New South Wales, and our course is actually world-class.

“It’s one of the most difficult courses we actually ski – so we had some really good training there.

“We also have the Geoff Henke training centre in Brisbane now where we can practice our jumps on a plastic slope into a pool.

“Because of the domestic border closures, I actually spent more time away from home than when we travel internationally so that was a bit tricky.

“But I’m feeling ready to go.”

Jakara finished second in the rankings after the 2020 World Cup Tour and collected a silver at the World Championships in Kazakhstan in March.

It all bodes well for her second Olympic campaign.

“We’ve got about 10 events before we even get to the Olympics which is with the same field so I’m really excited to see what I can do.

“I’ve been training really hard these last four years and progressed a lot, so I’m keen to see what I’m capable of.

“It’s incredible to see all the countries come together at the Olympics and just everyone having a crack and giving it their best, it’s a really special atmosphere.

“It’s going to be really exciting to see what happens this year, there will be a lot of girls going for that top spot.”

Jakara admitted moguls can be an intimidating sport but her determination to succeed helps her overcome any fear.

“I’m very stubborn and I’m very motivated to achieve things that I want to achieve. When I set my mind to something I really do everything I can to follow it through,” she said.

“There is a big fear factor and it’s scary, and I don’t cope particularly well with that but I’m getting better.

“But it’s definitely that motivation to get where I want to be that gets me through all that.”

Jakara said her parents Sue and Daryn, and brother Matt, had been incredible supports, along with her coaches Peter McNiel and Kate Blamey.

“You can’t do it without the people supporting you, and even just everyone back home supporting us by watching us and following our results … we really feel that when we are over there competing.”

She is also grateful for her sponsors, including Torquay-based snow apparel company XTM.

“XTM have been a long-time supporter of winter sport and me,” Jakara said.

“They are our Olympic sponsor and they supply us with some gloves and other things.

“Just the ongoing support they have provided has meant so much, to have someone that backs us no matter what and helps us gear up in the best gear possible, it really does make a massive difference to us.”