Aussie champ Jakara Anthony blows golden chance, crashes out

US freestyle skier Elizabeth Lemley won Olympic women’s moguls gold on Thursday morning (AEDT) in dramatic fashion as defending champion Anthony blew her chance for glory.

Lemley, 20, achieved a winning score of 82.30 in Livigno, with compatriot Jaelin Kauf (80.77) taking a second straight silver in the event.

France’s 2018 Olympic champion Perrine Laffont won bronze with a score of 78.00.

Anthony, who had been favourite to win the event at the Milan-Cortina Games, stumbled in the final run of the competition to hand the gold medal to Lemley, finishing bottom of the eight-strong field.

“I’m bummed,” Anthony told reporters.

“I think I was skiing and jumping at such a high level and skiing with good speed and I think I really had what it took to win there – I showed that in the first couple of rounds but I just didn’t put it down on that last time when it counted.”

She said it will take some time to get over the brutal end to her campaign.

The 2022 Olympic champion had dominated the event until her final run. She topped qualifying and led the way with a score of 83.96 after the first final, when 20 athletes were narrowed down to eight.

That meant she was the last to go in the second final but an error following her first jump meant she collected just 60.81 points to finish rock bottom.

In moguls, athletes navigate a steep course full of bumps, combining technical turns, jumps, aerial manoeuvres, and speed.

Code Sports reports Anthony’s competitors as well as the large Australian crowd “gasped in shock” after the fall.

Anthony’s young teammate, 20-year-old Charlotte Wilson, finished sixth.

Anthony’s former teammate Britt Cox said on Channel 9: “I have no words. I’ve never seen - she caught that outside edge ever so slightly. I don’t know what happened there”.

Aussie tennis great, commentating the action for Nine, Todd Woodbridge said: “Oh devastation. Oh no. It can’t be.

“She’s going to finish the run, but everyone is speechless. This is absolute devastation for Jakara Anthony”.

He said Cox was emotional sitting next to him as they watched Anthony’s blunder.

“I’ve got Britt next to me, who is absolutely struggling and so is everyone in Australia.

“Absolutely devastation for Jakara Anthony.”

Her mistake means Australia will have to wait at least four more years for an Aussie to successfully defend their gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

Anthony will have one more chance when she competes in the dual moguls event, which begins Saturday night (AEDT).

— with AFP.

Click here to read article