A lifetime of hard work, sacrifice and dedication had culminated in the realisation of a childhood dream, and Jakara Anthony was not quite ready to call it a day. “It’s 5am here and I have not been to bed yet, so it has been a big night,” Australia’s latest Olympic hero said, hours after winning her country’s first gold medal of the Beijing Games.
Her barnstorming victory in the women’s moguls wrote a new chapter in the annals of the country’s sporting history, as the 23-year-old blitzed the rest of the field over two days of competition to break Australia’s 12-year Winter Games gold medal drought.
Anthony, who placed fourth on her Olympic debut four years ago in Pyeongchang, dominated the competition on the slopes of the Zhangjiakou mountains. She led through every round before scoring 83.09 points in the six-woman super final to ensure she entered an exclusive club. Only Steven Bradbury, Alisa Camplin, Dale Begg-Smith, Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila had previously won gold at a Winter Olympics – the last two victories coming as long ago as the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Anthony’s win also marked the first time in history that Australia has won more than one medal on the same day of Winter Olympic competition, after Tess Coady picked up a bronze in the women’s snowboard slopestyle earlier on Sunday.
“It’s been very, very exciting,” Anthony said after celebrations went through the night. “Actually I haven’t really slept so it seems like the same day. It’s all still sinking in but I was so grateful to be able to celebrate with my team last night and share the experience with Tess, both getting podiums on the same day. It’s all really sinking in.”
Lassila – one of Australia’s greatest Winter Olympians, with a gold and bronze in the women’s aerials to her name – was in tears alongside Camplin – Australia’s assistant chef de mission at these Games – as she paid tribute after the final to Anthony’s resilience and skill.
“It was wild, wasn’t it. Because all six of the girls in the super final put down very respect able and solid runs,” Lassila said. “It was a great contest. She did not crumble. She did not falter. She did exactly the same run that she has been doing all week. She just controlled the contest from start to finish. That is what you call pure dominance. It is just so beautiful when you get to witness it like this. It has been a bloody 12-year drought and I’m glad it’s over.”
Anthony had switched off from the distractions of social media to better prepare for her tilt towards gold in China, but with the medal safely pocketed, she was able to log back in on Monday – to a deluge of congratulatory messages.
“Scrolling through I haven’t had time to read them but there is an enormous amount of messages of support,” she said. “Amazing to see how many people have gotten behind us and are reaching out to show their support. I’m pretty flattered, it’s incredible.”
Camplin, also a mentor to Anthony as well as winner of Australia’s second-ever Winter Games gold in 2002, said it was a “special moment”: both for Anthony, and for a nation not used to its athletes standing on the top step of the podium.
“She’s just an absolute champion” Camplin said. “She’s worked so hard for this. So steely under pressure. I’m just so incredibly proud. We’ve had amazing people along the way – people that came before me, after me. It sets the standard and also [builds] a lot of love.
“There’s a real family magic in this team right now. We really care about each other; it’s not just about the skiing. It’s about being good people and being there for each other through thick and thin, knowing you’re safe no matter what the outcome of the day. It just allows people to fly.”
Anthony, from the Victorian coastal town of Barwon Heads, began skiing at the age of four. She made her World Cup debut at 16, before taking her Olympic bow at 19, four years ago.
Taking inspiration from teammate Britt Cox, who competed at the Vancouver Games aged just 15, Anthony began to dream of Olympic gold. A silver medal at the 2019 World Championships and three World Cup golds followed, before she came fourth at the 2021 World Championships to set up a run for gold in Beijing.
“It was my childhood dream come true and that is something so special,” she said. “I was so lucky to be able to share that with my team there and have everybody back home watching it and it was just an incredible experience.
“It has taken a lot of work and there have been a lot of really tough times, but the processes that we have put in place and have really committed to solidifying have really shown to come through with the goods.”
