Snow Australia Medal recipients recognised in Melbourne

Six retired athletes were recognised at last week’s 2023 Snow Australia Awards in Melbourne, presented with their Snow Australia Medals.

The Medal provides a vehicle to reconnect with past elite athletes in Australian winter sport and inspire the future champions.

It is presented to athletes who have finished in the top three in a FIS World Cup event or the FIS World Championship, and/or represented Australia at the Olympic or Paralympic Winter Games.

Last Thursday, medals were presented to Gabi Ash (Aerials), Britt Cox (Moguls), Claudia Gueli (Moguls), Johanna Lyle (Alpine Snowboard), Renee McElduff (Aerials) and Nicole Parks (Moguls).

After being presented with her Medal, four-time Cox reflected on those who helped her throughout the years she enjoyed so much success on the world stage.

“It’s a real honour to be awarded the Snow Australia Medal as a recognition of my career,” said Cox. “To be in a room filled with almost all the people who played a really important role in my career is really special.

“For me it’s an opportunity to chat with them and thank them individually but also to get to speak with the next generation. I’m really passionate about seeing what the next generation can do and staying involved in the sport.

“Although this is my retirement, I’m definitely not leaving the sport, I’m staying involved and looking forward to seeing what Australia can do as a force moving forward in skiing and snowboarding.”

Cox said that now she has entered retirement, she is proud to have been a part of the rich recent history in Australian snowsports.

“It feels amazing to be joining such a strong legacy of winter sports in Australia,” she said. “If you look at what Australia has been able to achieve in winter sports, it’s absolutely incredible.

“To have my name hung on the banner alongside the other athletes that have helped Australia create that legacy is an honour and something I’m really proud of and I hope that what I did in the sport becomes a source of inspiration for the next generation moving forward.”

For Johanna Lyle, being presented with her Medal just added to the enjoyment of the 2023 Snow Australia Awards where she reconnected with those who were alongside her throughout her career.

“I haven’t been to a night like this in so long - we’ve had Covid, and now I’m living out in regional Victoria - so it’s so nice to see everyone and catch up and reminisce on the old times,” said the 2006 and 2010 Olympian.

“It does feel like a lifetime ago, so coming to a night like this is like ‘oh yeah, we were actually athletes’ so, it’s good memories.”

Lyle added that joining the elite list of Snow Australia Medallists was a genuine honour.

“It’s pretty special actually,” she said. “I guess not many people get to be one so it’s nice to be a part of the community, even though it’s a while ago!”

There are currently 175 Snow Australia Medallists with 89 athletes having already received their medal.

SNOW AUSTRALIA MEDAL - ATHLETE PROFILES

Gabi Ash

• Gabi’s background in skiing, diving and gymnastics laid a solid foundation to transition into the VIS Aerial Skiing Development Program.
• She made her international debut in 2017 and made her World Cup debut the following season, finishing in 22nd place.
• In 2021 she made her World Championship debut in Kazakhstan, placing 15th .
• Leading into the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, Gabi recorded her best international result of her career, a sixth place.
• In Beijing, Gabi and her older sister Sophie (moguls) became the first sisters to be selected for Australia at an Olympic Winter Games.
• In her Olympic debut, Gabi had a strong performance, just missing the finals and finishing in 14th place.

Britt Cox

• Britt’s career included 75 World Cup starts, nine World Cup victories, 2016/17 moguls and overall freestyle World Cup titles, two World Championships medals and four Olympic Games appearances.
• She was the youngest competitor at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics where she made her debut aged 15.
• Britt was the first Australian woman to medal at a Moguls World Cup in 2012 when she won the bronze in Deer Valley.
• She was also the first Australian woman to win a Moguls World Championships, claiming gold at Sierra Nevada in 2017.
• Britt was the first Australian woman to win the crystal globe.

Claudia Gueli

• Claudia made her international debut in 2014 at 17 years of age.
• Three years later she made her World Cup debut in Lake Placid, placing 27th. It went on to be a breakthrough season as she went on to compete in 10 World Cups in the space of two months.
• She made her first World Cup final in China in 2017, finishing 13th. Her best World Cup result came at the same venue in 2019 when she was 6th in dual moguls.
• Claudia made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang where she narrowly missed out on a spot in the first final, finishing 23rd overall.
• Claudia is currently a coach at TBR.

Johanna Lyle

• Johanna is Australia’s first and only female snowboard parallel giant slalom athlete to compete at the Olympics, making the team in 2006 (29th) and 2010 (19th).
• The Victorian rider came of age as one of the world’s elite alpine snowboarders during the 2008/09 season, lifting her ranking to 10th on the World Cup standings.

Renee McElduff

• Renee was part of the successful VIS and OWIA Aerials program and Australian Team. 
• She made her World Cup debut in Mont Gabriel in 2012, finishing 7th. 
• Her best northern winter was in 2014/2015 when she achieved four top 10 World Cup results including gold in Lake Placid.
• Renee is currently an Aerials Technical Jump Coach at OWIA.

Nicole Parks

• Aged 17, Nicole made her World Cup debut in 2010, placing 31st. Being an Olympic year, if she had placed just one position higher, she would have qualified for the Vancouver Olympics. 
• She made her Olympic debut at Sochi 2014, qualifying through to the finals and finishing in 15th place. 
• Her best international result was 8th in the Dual Moguls World Cup in Deer Valley in 2017, her last event before retirement.
• Nicole is currently an NSWIS moguls coach and part of the AIS National Generation 2032 coach program.