Snow Australia Medalists celebrated during Beijing 2022
Published Thu 24 Mar 2022
The Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were a huge success for Australian snow sports, recording the biggest ever Winter Olympics medal haul and showcasing many young talents with the potential to continue Australian success on snow all the way to Milan-Cortina in four years.
The Beijing Games also provided a perfect opportunity to recognise some of Australia’s most outstanding snow sport athletes of the past, celebrating a proud history that started with the first Australian Winter Olympians at the 1952 Games and continues to inspire the next generation of skiers and snowboarders.
Fourteen Australian Winter Olympians were presented with the Snow Australia Medal during the Beijing 2022 Games period, either at the Olympic ‘Live Lounge’ events in Melbourne or at Beijing 2022 Watch Parties organised in Jindabyne to gather the local communities in support of their athletes.
The Snow Australia Medal is Snow Australia’s career award that recognises the achievements of those past and retiring athletes who represented Australia at the highest level of snow sport competition, having either won a medal at FIS World Championships and/or World Cup level, or having achieved selection for the Australian Team at the Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games.
The ‘mogul brothers’ Adrian and Paul Costa were the first of the Olympians to be presented with the medal at Melbourne’s O’Brien Icehouse on 5 February, just minutes before witnessing 21-year-old Cooper Woods follow in their steps and achieve an impressive 6th place on Olympic debut in the Men’s Moguls at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.
Adrian Costa was the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony for the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games, where he became the first Australian four-time Winter Olympian alongside 1998 alpine Olympic medallist Zali Steggall. Adrian’s older brother Paul Costa competed in the 1994 Lillehammer Games and placed fourth at the 1993 FIS Freestyle World Championships in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee (Austria), for what was at the time Australia’s best ever result in moguls at a World Championships.
Another mogul Olympian, Jane Butko, was awarded the Snow Australia medal at the Live Lounge one day later, just as Jakara Anthony was making her way to an historic gold for Australia in the Women’s Moguls.
Butko took the time to celebrate the new Olympic Champion and reflect on how the discipline has changed in the 20 years since her participation at the Games in Salt Lake City. Butko reminisced that at the time restrictions on manoeuvres applied and inverted tricks were not allowed on the jumps. Changes to the air rules were to be introduced shortly after to also include upside-down moves, no doubt in small thanks to the infamous ‘dinner roll’ - the trick developed by US skier Johnny Moseley for the 1999 X-Games and later lobbied for FIS approval.
Olympians Jono Brauer (alpine) and Katya Crema (ski cross) took a break from their roles of Channel 7 Olympic commentary experts to receive their Snow Australia medals together in Melbourne. The two dual Olympians were teammates at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, where Crema competed in the first ever Olympic ski cross competition and Brauer raced in the alpine speed events. During the presentation they were also able to give the Live Lounge viewers some insights into how they transitioned to the media industry and how they prepared for their new roles at the Games.
More legends of the sport were celebrated on 11 February during a thrilling Live Lounge session in which Scotty James claimed silver in the Snowboard Halfpipe, with the Snow Australia medal presented to four members of the Sochi 2014 Australian Team: 3-time Olympian Stephanie Magiros (also a snowboard halfpipe athlete), alpine skiers Emily Bamford and Lavinia Chrystal and 3-time Olympian Jenny Lyons.
Lyons is the only Australian Olympian to have competed in two winter disciplines at the Games, having made her Olympic debut in alpine skiing at Salt Lake City 2002 before transitioning to ski cross and achieving two more Olympic selections and four world cup podium medals in the new discipline.
Still a fan of the sport and truly amazed by our current Olympians performances, former alpine skier and 1980 Lake Placid Olympian Jenny Altermatt was also presented with her Snow Australia Medal during one of the events. Altermatt recognised how safety on course has improved significantly since her time.
“I am a bit jealous as I would have definitely appreciated arm guards and padded suits!” said Altermatt, a gutsy racer who once strapped a ski pole to her arm in order to compete after fracturing her right hand in training.
The memory of another alpine skier and trailblazer for women’s sport, Judy Forras, was also celebrated in Melbourne, as members of her family accepted the medal on her behalf. Forras was part of the 1964 Australian Olympic team in Innsbruck, where she competed as a mother of four.
Meanwhile in NSW, local residents, Olympians and their families were able to get together in Jindabyne to watch the Olympic action and cheer for the Aussies in Beijing.
Salt Lake City Olympic Team members Manuela Berchtold (moguls), Alice Chilcott and Jeannette Korten (alpine) were awarded their medals at the Beijing 2022 Watch Party organised during the Women's Ski Cross event.
When asked about the most memorable experiences from her skiing career, Berchtold said the friendships she made along the way were at the top of her list.
“Definitely being able to go to events like the Olympic Games with your best mates,” she said.
“20 years on we are still best mates, and it is pretty amazing how sport is like that. I am still in touch with Lydia [Lassila] and Alisa [Camplin]. It is a travelling family that you bond with. You are mates for life and it is so incredibly special,” Berchtold said.
Berchtold was a regular presence at the Watch Parties in Jindabyne, taking every opportunity to support the local athletes, many of whom she has trained in her local gym.
“I keep saying to the parents of the new Olympians, [the Olympic experience] is something that can never be taken away from you and you gain so many amazing precious memories,” she explained.
When presented with her medal, Alice Chilcott confessed that her favourite part of alpine ski racing was indeed seeing the world.
“I often call it my uni degree. It took me to every continent,” she said.
She then offered some advice to the aspiring alpine athletes who are chasing their dream of one day representing Australia at the Olympic Winter Games.
“Embrace the moment, but also embrace every training moment as we [Australian athletes] get such limited time [on snow]. We have to work twice as hard as everyone else as we get the least amount of time on snow, so you need to maximise every turn, not just the turns that someone is watching,” Chilcott said.
Jeannette Korten also chipped in, offering some insight into her personal experience at the Olympics.
“We were so lucky, we had the best Games,” she said. “It was the start of the digital camera era. All Olympians were able to borrow digital cameras from the Olympic Village and save their photos onto CDs”.
As she watched Sami Kennedy-Sim making it all the way to the small final of the ski cross event, Korten admitted she would have loved an opportunity to try out the discipline during her time as an athlete. “Absolutely, it looks like so much fun. Athletes are so lucky now with their choice in snow sports.
“In saying that, I do get overly excited about watching the traditional alpine sports!” she said.
Dual Aerials Olympian Elizabeth Gardner was also honoured just after Beijing. The Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Olympian made 72 World Cup starts during her career and made it to the podium twice with a bronze in Fernie in 2004 and bronze in Sauze d’Oulx in 2004. Gardner is currently the Aerial Skiing Development Program Lead at the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia.
Beijing 2022 saw 16 new athletes added to the list of Snow Australia Medal recipients as they achieved their first selection to the Australian Olympic and Paralympic Teams, bringing the overall total to 211.
Currently active athletes will receive their medal once retired from the sport, but Snow Australia is looking forward to presenting further Snow Australia medals to its alumni at official events during the year.