When you think of popular Australian sports, what comes to mind? Most people would say rugby league, AFL, soccer, rugby union, basketball and netball.
However, on the back of Australia’s success at the Beijing Winter Olympics, sports like skiing, luge, curling and snowboarding are gaining popularity in the Australian sporting landscape.
Jakara Anthony, from Barwon Heads on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, claimed Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in 12 years when she won the women’s moguls event, and in the process became just the sixth Australian athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal.
On what was an incredible day for the Australian Winter Olympics team, Tess Coady won bronze in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event and broke an 86-year drought as Australia claimed two medals in a single day.
According to Anthony, Australia has world-class training facilities and our Winter Olympic success should come as no surprise.
“I think Australia has already proved it is a Winter Olympic player. We’ve had spectacular results for years and years in freestyle skiing, not just at Olympics (but) at World Cups, World Championships,” she said following her victory.
“What I think a lot of people don’t realise is, especially for moguls skiing, the facilities we have in Australia are world class.”
The recently opened Geoff Henke Winter Olympic Training Centre in Brisbane is helping to develop the skills of Australia’s Winter Olympics athletes and produce future gold medallists.
The $6.5 million facility, built in late 2020, contains ramps of different heights with skiers landing in a pool below them which allows the athletes to work on their skills and practise their jumps.
Australian snowboarding great Scotty James, a three-time World Champion, four-time Olympian and bronze medalist from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, has helped pioneer the sport of snowboarding and believes the future of the sport is bright after he and 16-year-old Aussie Valentino Guseli both reached the men’s snowboard halfpipe final in Beijing.
“It’s exciting for Australian snowboarding,” James said after he qualified in second position behind Ayumu Hirano of Japan.
“Val’s awesome, he’s a super talented kid.”
Triple Olympian Australian luge athlete Alex Ferlazzo finished 16th in Beijing and hopes to inspire kids to take up the crazy sport of luge where competitors lay feet first and hit speeds up to 130km per hour along an icy track.
“I can’t wait to see some Aussie young ‘uns come through and give it a crack, hopefully some kids watching tonight will be out there giving it a go soon,” Ferlazzo said.
“That really excites me, I feel like with the knowledge I have now I can help the next generation and that’s the goal.”
Australia may not have a curling facility anywhere in the country, however that hasn’t stopped Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt from creating history as they became the country’s first-ever Olympic curlers.
The mixed-doubles pair claimed Australia’s first ever win by beating Switzerland 9-6, then went on to defeat 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics gold medallists Canada 10-8 in a victory that was described as the ‘upset of the tournament’ by one commentator.
Gill and Hewitt hope their success will have a lasting impact on the sport of curling.
“We knew that if we got a team to the Olympics, it would grow the sport, because there’s always a lot of interest after an Olympic year,” said Gill.
“I hope it does wonders for Australian curling,” Hewitt added.
