Jakara Anthony to continue Australian mogul skiing success story

As the 2021-2022 FIS World Cup season is rapidly approaching, the Australian mogul team continue their preparations towards the most important event of the season, the Olympic Winter Games which kick off in Beijing on Feb 4.

After two breakthrough seasons in 2019 and 2020 when she finished third and second in the FIS Freestyle Moguls World Cup standings, Jakara Anthony ended the 2021 season with no World Cup medals. Despite the lack of podium placements, the 2019 World Championship silver medallist was still the highest ranked Australian female in the end-of-year FIS standings (in tenth) and came close to a second World Championship accolade when she finished fourth in Almaty (KAZ). 

The 23-year-old will look to build on those results as she prepares for her second Olympic campaign in Beijing, where she is expected to be one of Australia’s leading medal contenders after her fourth place on debut at Pyeongchang 2018.

NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Winter Program Coordinator and former Freestyle Mogul Head Coach Peter Topalovic followed Anthony’s journey since very early on, when the athlete was a Team Buller Riders skier coached by Hamish Cox.

“I first noticed Jakara at the ABOM Mogul Challenge,” Topalovic said.

“The first thing that stood out to me where her intangibles. There were kids yelling and screaming everywhere, having the time of their lives, and this quiet young girl just stood there in the start gate, fixated on the mogul course, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around her.

“I watched most of her training runs that day and was very impressed with her ability to consistently repeat the same run over and over again. After the event finished, I talked to Hamish Cox and [current NSWIS Mogul Head Coach] Peter McNiel about her performance and we all agreed that we had never seen a female mogul skier stand so naturally in a ski boot since Kari Traa from Norway in the early 2000s. It was very surreal to be honest.

“Jakara’s best quality are her turns, they are the world’s best. She also works incredibly hard to increase her degree of difficulty on the jumps which are going from strength to strength,” Topalovic said.

Topalovic added that working with current Mogul Head Coach Peter McNiel has been crucial for Anthony’s development. 

“It’s her secret weapon. Peter is one of the finest mogul coaches in the world today and has an amazing ability to inspire and get the very best out of his athletes.”

Leading up to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Jakara Anthony and the rest of the Australian team will not only chase personal success, but also continue to inspire the next generation of Australian talents, following up on a rich tradition of athletes who came before them.

“That aspect is critical and the secret to our success,” Topalovic confirmed.  

“Every mogul skiing athlete that came through the NSWIS mogul program since early 2000 always contributed to the next generation through the Snow Australian FUTURES program. 

“This has been the biggest success story for mogul skiing in Australia. Every Olympic mogul skier from the past four Olympic Games who came through the program was mentored by former NSWIS national team or Olympic athletes and the cycle continues today,” he said.
 

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