Shock golden opportunity
CAIRNS-BORN moguls skier Jakara Anthony admits her Winter Olympic Games selection has come four years earlier than expected.
The 19-year-old prodigy, now based in Barwon Heads in Victoria, will live out a lifelong dream when she represents Australia at PyeongChang next month, after she was earlier this week named in the national squad of 45.
Anthony sits 14th in the world and is Australia’s second-best moguls skier behind world champion Britteny Cox. She will represent Australia in the freestyle moguls skiing.
Born in Far North Queensland, Anthony moved to Barwon Heads at a young age and took up snow sports.
She nearly gave her skiing career away at age 10 to pursue a snowboarding career, but her decision to stick with the moguls has paid off earlier than she ever thought.
Talking from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where her team are having their final training camp before heading to South Korea, Anthony described her selection as a “dream come true”.
“Everything is feeling a bit more real now and my dream is finally coming true,” Anthony said.
“The focus for me was more Beijing in 2022, but it’s really awesome that I’ve qualified earlier than I was aiming for.
“I’m very excited now that it’s all confirmed.”
Anthony has spent the past month and a half competing on the World Cup tour in Finland (12th), China (14th and 21st), Canada (26th and 13th) and the US, where she returned a personal-best fifth, and 12th, at Deer Valley, Utah.
“I’m very pleased with how the last year of preparation has gone for me,” Anthony said.
“We’ve spent the year working on different bits and pieces at all of our different camps and put it all together for the World Cup season.
“The approach we took seems to have paid off.”
Those World Cup results have influenced her selection in the Australian team, which makes its way to South Korea ahead of the opening ceremony on February 9.
“It will be an honour and a dream come true to represent Australia at the Olympics,” she said.
“This has been a goal of mine since I was a little kid.”
Barwon Sports Academy chief executive Cameron Loftus lauded Anthony on her selection.
“It’s just outstanding to see a young talent come through the BSA as a 14-year-old and reach her ultimate goal of representing Australia at the Winter Olympics,” Loftus said.
THE FOCUS FOR ME WAS MORE BEIJING IN 2022, BUT IT’S REALLY AWESOME THAT I’VE QUALIFIED EARLIER THAN I WAS AIMING FOR. I’M VERY EXCITED NOW THAT IT’S ALL CONFIRMED JAKARA ANTHONY