LIVIGNO, Italy – Australia celebrated its first Olympic gold medal in women’s snowboard cross on Friday, as Josie Baff, 23, surged to victory at the Milan Cortina Games. Baff finished the course in a thrilling final, edging out Czech Republic’s Eva Adamczykova by just 0.04 seconds.
The win marks the first time Australia has secured two gold medals at a single Winter Olympics since Vancouver 2010, following Cooper Woods’ victory in the men’s moguls the previous day. Baff’s triumph also makes her the eighth Australian to win gold at the Winter Olympics, and the first woman from the nation to achieve the feat at the current Games.
“Seeing [Woods win] yesterday definitely sparked a little fire in me,” Baff said, according to reports. “I thought: if he can do it, I can do it too.”
Italy’s Michela Moioli claimed the bronze medal, delighting the home crowd. The race saw all four finalists fiercely competing for a podium finish on the 1.1km course in the Italian Alps. Baff, who was 17th in the seedings, demonstrated increasing confidence throughout the qualifying rounds.
“Each round that I make it through, I receive less and less nervous,” Baff stated. “Even though the pressure theoretically should be getting more and more, I trust myself more and more. I just knew, from no matter what position that I was in out of the start, that I could make a pass and that I had the skills.”
Adamczykova, a seasoned competitor with gold from Sochi 2014 and bronze from Pyeongchang 2018, added a silver medal to her collection. She did not compete at the 2022 Beijing Games. Reflecting on her performance, Adamczykova said, “It’s a really different story from eight years ago. I always said that I want to complete the collection, so I reckon it was meant to be.”
The victory comes as a personal milestone for Baff, who hails from Cooma, New South Wales – the same town as 2010 half-pipe Olympic champion Torah Bright.
Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes, a former world champion, experienced disappointment, exiting in the quarter-finals. “I messed up,” Bankes admitted. “Today is nothing to do with injuries. It’s just a disappointing performance from me and I’m just sorry to everybody watching.”
Elsewhere at the Games, Quentin Fillon Maillet of France secured gold in the men’s 10km sprint biathlon, achieving a perfect shooting record with 10 hits from 10 shots. Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen took silver, and Sturla Holm Lægreid secured bronze.
As of Friday, the medal standings are led by Norway with 10 gold, 3 silver, and 7 bronze medals, totaling 20. Italy follows with 6 gold, 3 silver, and 9 bronze, for a total of 18. The United States is third with 5 gold, 8 silver, and 4 bronze, totaling 17.
The Winter Olympics continue with a full schedule of events on Saturday, including the debut of dual moguls in freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, and short track speed skating.
