Josie Baff wiped away tears of joy after doubling Australia’s Winter Olympic gold medal haul after victory in the women’s snowboard cross final at Milano-Cortina – but it was a different story for compatriot Scotty James in the men’s halfpipe.
Baff, 23, jumped in delight on the podium after becoming the first Australian woman to medal in the event, with her triumph coming less than 24 hours after the shock win by Cooper Woods in the moguls.
It is the first time since 2010 in Vancouver that Australia has celebrated two golds at a Games.
Baff said she was inspired by Woods’ triumph, with the pair having been former classmates in Jindabyne over the winter term and also crossing paths in junior surf lifesaving.
Baff’s boyfriend, Canadian Eliot Grondin, won silver in the men’s snowboard.
‘I actually grew up doing surf lifesaving and Cooper was doing that as well, so I saw him a lot down in Pambula…and I know him and his family super well,’ Baff said.
Josie Baff doubled Australia’s Olympic gold medal haul at the Winter Olympics after storming to a superb victory in the women’s snowboard cross final at Milano-Cortina
Baff pipped Czech star Eva Adamczykova and Italian Michela Moioli in a thrilling final
‘Seeing his win definitely sparked a little fire in me…I thought if he can do it, I can do it too.’
Baff was daring in both her semi-final and the four-racer medal race at Livigno Snow Park, as she slipped through on the inside with immaculate overtaking manoeuvres to win both races.
Baff, the world championship runner-up in 2023, also did it the hard way after revealing she battled the flu earlier in the week.
She pipped both the racer who beat her for gold three years ago, Czech star Eva Adamczykova, and reigning world champ and 2018 Olympic gold medallist, Italian Michela Moioli, in a thrilling final.
Baff felt she earned the win through her hard work since her Beijing disappointment, when she was left in tears after her campaign ended in the opening race.
‘It’s amazing – I would like to say that I can’t believe it, but I kind of can,’ she said.
‘I feel like I deserve it and I put in a lot of hard work so I knew I could do it but to actually have the medal around my neck is very, very cool.
‘It’s definitely something that I’ve been working towards for a very long time and my team has been helping me achieve that every step of the way.’
Baff (pictured, middle) was all smiles after her overtake saw her win gold by 0.04 seconds
Aussie superstar Scotty James was shattered after finishing second in the men’s halfpipe final (pictured, after his final run)
James (pictured, falling on his final run) was beaten by Japan’s Totsuka Yuto, who scored an incredible 95.00 from the judges on his second run
It was Australia’s second ever snowboard cross medal after Jarryd Hughes took silver in the men’s race in Pyeongchang in 2018, while Torah Bright is the only other woman to medal, winning two in the halfpipe.
Baff’s father Peter coached both Bright and his daughter when she was a junior star.
Baff had arrived in strong form, sitting in the world No.2 ranking, but she had a slow start to the day and finished only 17th in the seedings.
That meant she raced against new mum Adamczykova – the top seed – all the way through.
Baff showed her class to win her first race and move through to the quarter-finals, where she finished second in a four-race field in a heart-stopping photo finish.
She wasn’t headed from there, charging through her semi-final, and then making a move midway through the final with a superb overtake to take the gold by 0.04 seconds.
Later in the day, Aussie superstar Scotty James was shattered after finishing second in the men’s halfpipe final.
James was beaten by Japan’s Totsuka Yuto, who scored a jaw-dropping 95.00 from the judges on his second run.
Fellow Aussie Valentino Guseli finished a credible fifth.
