‘Snow hurts, that’s for sure’: How fear keeps Jakara Anthony on top of her game

11 hours ago 2

Embracing fear has become part and parcel of Jakara Anthony’s life, so it is little surprise the thought of going from the hunter to the hunted come the Winter Olympics in 100 days’ time is no concern. It’s a “privilege”.

Surprisingly, given the risks inherent in her sport, the freestyle skier had experienced few crashes in her career.

However, a December training incident in Sweden threatened to jeopardise her dreams of defending the moguls gold medal she won at the 2022 Beijing Games.

“I broke my collarbone, so that was my biggest one to date, and that was a surgery job,” Anthony told this masthead ahead of the 100-day countdown to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“Unfortunately, I missed most of the competition season. But I’m back to 100 per cent.”

The extended period on the sidelines that followed gave Anthony – who says it is “pretty stock standard any winter sport athlete is just off chasing the snow” – a rare opportunity to remain at home.

Olympic gold medalist mogul skier Jakara Anthony.

Though she admits to growing tired of living out of a suitcase, it is all the 27-year-old has known since she was 12. That stint away allowed her to take in sporting events like the Australian Open and Phillip Island Superbikes, while also watching the Fox sisters, Jess and Noemie, in action.

The Cairns-born Anthony, who moved to Victoria before she turned one, has grown up on the slopes. Pressure, injury and confronting the fear of failure have become part of her DNA.

She drew on that wisdom in Beijing, when she became the first Australian woman to claim gold in the mogul, improving on her fourth-place finish on Olympic debut in 2018 in South Korea.

“Part of it is just learning to be able to stay in the present so that you can manage the fear, manage the pressure, or whatever feelings come up,” Anthony said.

Olympic gold medallist mogul skier Jakara Anthony during a training session at the Sleeman Aquatic Centre

“If you can just stay present and focus on what it is you need to do at that point in time, that’s how you’re going to best set yourself up for success.

“It’s easier said than done. It’s an extreme sport, and if things go wrong … snow hurts, that’s for sure. We’re competing at the top level, and the reality is you’re out there trying to win.

“There can be a little bit of perceived pressure from that. It’s just managing that and then the fear that comes from all sorts of things.”

Anthony has taken her final preparations to Brisbane, where she and her Australian teammates train by launching into a pool at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre.

Jakara Anthony trains in Brisbane on Monday.

“Less consequences of landing wrong, and less impact on your body,” she explains.

The hours of gym, months of travel “chasing the snow” and time away from family will culminate in the chance to defend her Olympic crown when the Milano-Cortina Games start on February 6.

In Beijing, Anthony became Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medallist since Vancouver 2010, and shared her moment of triumph with 2002 gold medal-winning aerial skier Alisa Camplin and 2010 aerial champion Lydia Lassila, which only added to the euphoria. This time, though, the self-confessed “perfectionist” admits she will need to find an extra edge.

“To get to have them around, two of our other Olympic gold medallists, was really special,” she said.

“Lydia was actually the one who broke the news to me that I was the first gold medallist in 12 years, the one before being her medal in Vancouver.

“It was such a wild feeling to have it all actually come together. So many things need to go right at the same time to give me the chance to be able to put down what we know we’re capable of.

“All my games experiences have been really different ... going in as the defending champion, it’s really going to keep it fresh and interesting.”

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