Turner’s gold continues Australia’s SBX Junior Worlds medal run

Cameron Turner led the Australian contingent at the 2026 FIS Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland, claiming his country’s first individual gold medal at the event.

It was Turner’s second straight JWC medal, having won silver in the team competition alongside Maya Billingham last year. Billingham also claimed individual silver at Isola 2000 12 months ago.

Turner produced a composed series of races through the knockout rounds to secure the victory, improving on his performance at the 2025 championships where he finished fifth in the individual event.

A member of Australia’s team at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, the 19-year-old showed impressive speed and race craft on the demanding St Moritz course, navigating a deep international field to record the biggest victory of his young career.

It was Australia’s fourth victory at the Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships, the most recent coming in 2023 when 2026 Olympic Champion Josie Baff combined with Milano-Cortina teammate James Johnstone to claim gold in the Mixed Team event. Matthew Thomas also featured in earlier success, combining with Jarryd Hughes in 2014 and Adam Lambert in 2015 to win back-to-back Men’s Team gold, an event that has since been replaced by the Mixed Team format.

Australia’s men also produced several encouraging performances behind Turner’s title-winning result.

Angus Young advanced to the quarter-finals to finish 10th overall, marking an improvement on his 15th-place finish at last year’s championships.

Robert Jones also reached the quarter-finals, finishing 14th overall in his return to the Junior World Championships for the first time since 2024. The 19-year-old showed significant progression, climbing from 39th place at his previous appearance.

William Martin won his pre-heat but was knocked out in the 1/8 final to finish 17th in his fourth Junior World Championship appearance. While he was unable to surpass his ninth-place result from the individual event in 2025, Martin continued to perform solidly at the international junior level, having also claimed bronze at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in the mixed team event alongside future Olympian Abbey Wilson.

In the women’s competition, Marci Davis-Cook once again showed her consistency at the Junior World Championships, reaching the quarter-finals for the third consecutive year to finish 13th overall.

Lara Walsh progressed to the 1/8 final to finish 25th overall at her third Junior World Championships. Walsh was unable to replicate her quarter-final result from the 2025 championships at Isola 2000 but gained further experience racing against a strong international field.

Australia also fielded two teams in the mixed team snowboard cross event. The pairing of Davis-Cook and Turner advanced to the quarter-finals before being eliminated, while Walsh and Young were knocked out in the pre-heats.

The 2026 FIS Junior World Championships continue in St Moritz with Ski Cross from 19-21 March, before the Moguls competition takes place in Airolo, Switzerland from 19-22 March.