Billingham earns a double-silver lining to round out Junior Worlds campaign
Published Mon 14 Apr 2025
A successful 2024/25 northern winter has finished with more silverware for Australia at the Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships at Isola 2000 in France.
The nine-strong Australian contingent all performed strongly on the opening day of competition with every athlete making it through to the elimination phase.
Maya Billingham finished second behind 2025 Crystal Globe winner Lea Casta (FRA) in the women’s individual event, then teamed with Cameron Turner for another silver medal in the Mixed Team.
“It feels absolutely amazing to be able to get not one but two podiums today,” said Billingham. “It has been a dream for me to be able to even come close to a podium at Junior Worlds and to come away with two silvers is so so exciting!
“The course was super fun with some really interesting features that we don’t usually get to ride. The soft snow was not ideal for most but I love those conditions and we sometimes get to train with softer snow in Australia so that definitely helped as well
“I love riding heats and I love the intensity and quick decisions you have to make, some of my heats were chaotic to say the least with girls super close at all times, which was super fun!
“Tactically the most important thing for my race was riding the correct lines in the turns and being ready for anything to happen. “If I was on the right line I knew I would be fast.”
Abbey Wilson finished second in the women’s small final to finish in sixth place while Turner won the men’s small final to be placed fifth. William Martin and William McCarthy also finished inside the top 10.
While Billingham and Turner stood on the podium in the Team Event, two more Australian teams finished in the top eight with McCarthy and Wilson in seventh while Martin and Lara Walsh were eighth.
The Junior World Championships brings to a close an action-packed snowboard cross season with NSWIS and Emerging Talent Program athletes enjoying success alongside the senior World Cup athletes.
Athletes are now returning home to Australia for a short break before the start of the domestic season.
