Beijing: Mogul skier Jakara Anthony has topped her qualifying round, setting her sights firmly on Australia’s first medal of the Winter Olympics.
Her score of 83.75 was well clear of nearest rivals Perrine Laffont, of France, and Jaelin Kauf, of the United States.
Jakara Anthony in action during the women’s freestyle moguls qualification at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.Credit:Getty Images
The freestyle moguls event tests a skier’s ability to combine technical turns, aerial gymnastics and speed down a bumpy 250-metre slope.
Anthony nailed a 720-degree rotation, crossing her skis in the air while flying down the Genting ski field. The 23-year-old did it en route to a time of 27.9 seconds, the third-fastest of the top 10 to qualify through to Sunday’s final.
“I’m really proud and happy with what I was able to achieve just then,” she said afterwards.
“I transferred really well from training to competition. It’s an incredible mogul run. I’d be happy to see it any day of the week.”
Jakara Anthony is excellent form in Beijing and chasing a podium finish in the final.Credit:AP
The result leaves Anthony in pole position to take out a medal on Sunday after narrowly missing out in Pyeongchang four years ago.
Fellow Australian freestyle skier Britteny Cox also qualified for the final in ninth, while Sophie Ash came in 18th, giving her one more chance to qualify for the final on Sunday. The trio were skiing in -20 degrees on the freshly built Olympic ski fields 200 kilometres outside Beijing.
“It’s incredible to finally begin competing under lights and under the Olympic rings,” said Anthony. “It’s a really big buildup for once every four years. So to finally have made it here and get to compete is really special.”
A medal of any colour would be one better than 2018 when Anthony narrowly missed out on bronze. Anthony came into Thursday’s qualifiers off the back of three World Cup medals, but said COVID-19 had made the last few years on the international circuit tough.
“It’s a real shame that we can’t have a full crowd of international spectators here, but at the same time I’m really stoked that the organising committee are doing everything they can to keep us safe,” she said.
The Games reported a new high of 55 cases on Thursday as thousands more competitors arrived ahead of the opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday.
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