Anthony Top Qualifier in Women’s Moguls

Defending Olympic Champion Jakara Anthony has confidently opened her Milano Cortina 2026 campaign with a dominant run in the women’s moguls, scoring 81.65 as the top qualifier.

The 27-year-old joins fellow Opening Ceremony Flag Bearer Matt Graham as the two Australians to bypass the next qualification round, and advance straight through to finals.x 

Anthony said her opening run reflected what she and her team planned for Day 1. 

“My run felt like what I needed to put down for qualifications, it felt pretty tidy, it’s what we came out here to do today,” she said. 

Heading into Milano Cortina as the reigning Olympic Champion, Anthony said she is embracing the unique opportunity but remains focused on her process. 

“It’s definitely a bit different coming in as defending Champion, but also a really cool opportunity,” said Anthony. “Only one person gets that chance every four years and pretty cool that it’s me this time around. 

“My approach for the competition doesn’t change because of that. You know, I’m still out there just trying to hit the cues in the run that I know I need to and put down the run that I’m capable of. 

“Me and my team, we’ve done everything to put me in the position to do that and now it’s just time to go execute and it’s going to be what it’s going to be.” 

Fellow Aussie Emma Bosco put down a strong performance to place 17th (66.58) after Qualification 1. Charlotte Wilson, after mistiming a mogul in the middle section and briefly pulling off the course, recovered to complete her run and sits 28th (49.95). 

Both Bosco and Wilson will have another opportunity to qualify on Wednesday, with the top 10 from Qualification 2 joining Anthony in the 20-skier final. 

Bosco, 23, said it was incredible to make her Olympic debut in front of her family. 

“It means a lot to me; 18 months ago this was looking very unlikely for me – I hadn’t even skied a World Cup before,” Bosco said. 

“The last year has been quite a whirlwind and I’m happy to lay it down in front of the people I love. I think they were some of my best jumps all season. 

“I think you can see [the crowd] as pressure, or you can see it as something that boosts you. I was thinking at the top that no matter what I do, at the bottom I’ll get to see my family, so that’s pretty cool.” 

Bosco said that she took her cue from Anthony heading into her debut. 

“I’ve been training alongside Jakara since I was 15, so a lot of what I do in my day-to-day I’ve taken from her, so now to be at the Olympics with her is really special.” 

While Wilson was disappointed she couldn’t replicate the runs she performed in training, she said she’s turning her attention to her second qualification attempt on Wednesday. 

“It’s nice to get a run out of the way and tick that box, and now I can focus on doing the run that I did in training that I know I can put down,” Wilson said. 

“I’ll rest, reset and go over that run, but also look at all the good training runs I’ve done over the past few days and take those points into tomorrow and hopefully learn and put down a good run.” 

Bosco and Wilson will line up for Qualification 2 at 9pm AEDT on Wednesday 11 February. The top 10 from Qualification 2 will join Anthony in the Finals from 12:15am AEDT on Thursday morning. 

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