A Big Weekend For Australian Freestyle Athletes With Three Gold and One Silver
Mountainwatch | Press release
Danielle Scott Wins Aerial Skiing World Cup in Lake Placid
Australian aerial skier Danielle Scott has returned to the top of the podium, claiming her first World Cup victory since March 2023 in Lake Placid, USA. The win marks her first podium finish of the season and the seventh World Cup victory of her career.
Three Australians qualified for top-12 finals, performing the full-full double twisting double back somersault. Laura Peel qualified in first place, Danielle Scott was close behind in second on 86.62, and Airleigh Frigo was ninth with 80.01.
In the opening round of finals, two Australians advanced to the six-athlete super-final. Scott was second after scoring 87.25 points for her full-full jump, while Laura Peel squeezed into sixth place with 82.97 points for her lay-full-full double twisting double back somersault. Airleigh Frigo narrowly missed the cut, finishing seventh with 81.90 points.
Scott was impressive in difficult wind conditions in the super-final, scoring 95.88 points for her double full-full triple twisting double back somersault to take the victory. Mengtao Xu of China was runner up on 94.01 points, and Kaila Kuhn of the USA finished third on 92.29 points. Peel was sixth after struggling to land her signature full-full-full triple twisting triple back somersault.
“I’m just letting this sink in. I’ve had a rough run this season,” said the 35-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
“A lot of highs and lows, coming back to triples has been tricky. Today I just needed to go prove myself, and I did that, so I’m stoked. “I was hoping to do triples, and we made some hard decisions and decided to keep it on the double. I think it paid off. I want to do them, so let’s get Mother Nature on our side.”
A second World Cup event will be held tomorrow in Lake Placid, serving as the final Olympic qualification event for aerials.
After five events this season, three Australians rank inside the top 10: Peel (5th), Scott (7th), Frigo (9th), with Willcox just outside in 11th.
Four Finalists in Aspen Freeski and Snowboard World Cups
Australian freeski halfpipe athlete Indra Brown has continued her strong World Cup season with a 4th place finish at the Freeski Halfpipe World Cup in Aspen, USA. Brown qualified 5th for the final and skied consistently against a high-calibre field to narrowly miss the podium.
China’s Li Fanghui took the women’s title with a score of 93.00, edging out Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin (92.75), while Zhang Kexin of China rounded out the podium in third (88.75). Brown was the next best finisher in an event that was the final World Cup before the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The result in Aspen extends the teenager’s impressive run this season, following podiums in Secret Garden, Copper Mountain and Calgary, and leaves her ranked first in the FIS Freeski Halfpipe standings.
In women’s snowboard slopestyle, Mela Stalker finished 5th and Tess Coady 6th in clear and cold conditions at the Snowmass Park. Valentino Guseli was also in form in Aspen, and was the second highest qualifier for the finals with 92 points in his heat. After two consecutive World Cup wins, Valentino was looking good for another podium, but just missed out, finishing in fourth place.
He is now sitting in second place on the World Cup halfpipe ranking while Mela Stalker is in fifth place on women’s slopestyle rankings. Fellow Australian Ally Hickman is currently ranked fourth on the snowboard Big Air rankings.
The final Park and Pipe World Cup prior to the Olympics starts in Laax, Switzerland on Thursday with halfpipe and slopestyle snowboard comps and Freeski slopestyle.
Anthony Wins Gold and Graham Takes Silver in Moguls Canada
Australian mogul skiers have started 2026 in the best possible way, with Jakara Anthony winning gold and Matt Graham claiming silver in Val St. Come, Canada. Their second consecutive dual podium finish propels both athletes into the coveted yellow leader’s bib ranked number one on the standings, the first time Australia has simultaneously held the top ranking in both men’s and women’s moguls.
Wet conditions with poor visibility impacted the competition, reducing the women’s event to a single run, while the men’s event was delayed for several hours before proceeding with qualifying and a one-run final.
Anthony opened with a commanding run, scoring 79.83 points to finish nearly four points ahead of American Tess Johnson in second place with 75.85. Fellow American Olivia Giaccio rounded out the podium in third with 75.78.
With this victory, Anthony now boasts 25 career World Cup wins, matching aerial skiing legend Jacqui Cooper for the most by any Australian athlete.
In the men’s event, Matt Graham qualified for the finals in fifth place with a score of 81.22, joined by teammate Jackson Harvey in 15th on 74.39.
Graham delivered a strong performance in the final, boosting his score to 83.50 to secure the silver medal, marking the 29th podium of his career. Harvey achieved a personal best, finishing seventh with 80.24 points. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury claimed victory with 85.83, his 100th of his career, while American Nick Page rounded out the podium in third on 80.96.
The tour moves to Lake Placid this week for single and dual moguls events, the final competition before the Olympics
