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Jakara Anthony has soared to yet another World Cup moguls victory claiming gold at the Val Saint-Côme event in Canada and moving to the top of the overall standings.
Teammate Matt Graham claimed a second podium in a row, finishing second to also move to the top of the men’s overall standings.
It is the first time in World Cup history that the leader of both the women’s and men’s competitions have been Australian.
Competing for the first time in a month after the cancellation of the Idre Fjäll event in mid-December, Australia’s Olympic medal-winning skiers both proved the lay-off over Christmas did little to reduce their edge with just 27 days to go before the Milano-Cortina Games.
Jakara Anthony claimed her second moguls win of the year. (AP Image: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)
Thick fog which obscured visibility caused the cancellation of the women’s finals, meaning Anthony claimed victory by way of her qualification performance.
“It was a different victory tonight, pretty weird competition day,” the 27-year-old Anthony said.
“But having put it down in qualifications worked out for me with finals cancelled.”
The men’s competition was allowed to take place though, with Mikaël Kingsbury making history by winning his 100th World Cup gold medal.
Canadian legend Kingsbury missed the opening two rounds of the season with injury, making his victory on home soil all the sweeter.
“It’s unreal, I cannot find the words,” said the 33-year-old Quebec native, who claimed his first victory as an 18-year-old.
“To do this in front of my home crowd, my family, I kinda lost hope with the injury that it might be possible to do it at home.
“It’s insane. What a day. I can’t believe I’m at 100 [wins].”
Matt Graham earned silver behind Mikaël Kingsbury. (AP Photo: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)
Finishing second behind Kingsbury was Australian Graham, who is in exceptional form this season.
Graham, a silver medallist from the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in 2018, behind Kingsbury no less, is firming as a real contender when the Olympic moguls competition gets underway next month in Livigno.
“Obviously a good day, really happy with way I adapted given the conditions,” the 31-year-old said.
“It pretty much rained all day with big delays before the qualification round.
“We had to sit around for two hours, and then to buckle up to do the qualification round is always challenging.
“At that point in time we were not sure if it would be a one run event or finals would happen, so had to lock in and put in a performance that would give me a good result.
“It was huge for Mikaël to get his 100th World Cup win.
“I was glad I was able to share that moment with him. We have competed against each other for a long time and shared a lot of podiums together.
“Happy I have slowed him up from winning on three separate occasions, but I am super happy for him and his family.”
Anthony, who also won gold in Ruka to open the season, claimed her 25th World Cup gold, while Graham earned a 29th World Cup podium.
Anthony’s win puts her one victory behind Jacqui Cooper’s all-time record.
“Very exciting to be back in the yellow jersey I haven’t worn that since the 2024/2025 season,” Anthony said.
“Even more special to have Matt in the yellow jersey at the same time. I think that’s a first for Australia.”
Elsewhere in the men’s field, George Murphy (19th) and Cooper Woods (21st) missed out on the final, while Jackson Harvey finished seventh in the final.
In the women’s field, Charlotte Wilson finished 17th and Emma Bosco 27th.
Across the border in the US at Aspen, Valentino Guseli finished in fourth place in the snowboard halfpipe World Cup event, missing out on a spot on the podium by just 2.5 points.
Fellow Aussie Joey Elliss finished in 48th spot.
In the women’s competition, Amelie Haskell finished eighth in what was her first World Cup final appearance, with Emile Arthur (18th) and Misaki Vaughan (20th) also in action.
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