Cameron Turner becomes first Australian to win individual Junior World Championship Gold

Cameron Turner has made history, becoming Australia’s first ever individual Snowboard Cross Junior World Champion after a gold‑medal performance in St Moritz, Switzerland.
 
The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder entered the championships full of confidence after claiming silver in open‑age competition at a European Cup event earlier in the week.
 
He progressed strongly through the finals, winning his round of 64 race before finishing second in his round of 32 heat. Turner then stepped up to claim victories in both his quarter‑final and semi‑final, securing a place in the big final.
 
In the medal race, Turner delivered a dominant performance, leading from start to finish to take gold ahead of Switzerland’s Kenny Schlaeppi in second. Italy’s Tommaso Costa claimed bronze after a photo finish over France’s Benjamin Niel.
 
The victory brings Turner’s Junior World Championship medal tally to two, adding to the mixed team silver he won alongside fellow NSWIS athlete Maya Billingham in 2025.
 
“It’s such a great feeling! I knew going into the competition that winning the gold was what I wanted to achieve so I am very happy with my performance,” said the 19-year-old from the Yarra Valley in Victoria.
 
“Definitely it was one of my main goals, with this being my final year of Junior Worlds, I knew it would be extra special to go out with the win.”
 
“I had a great lead in to the Junior Worlds getting the silver in the European Cup a few days before so I was feeling very comfortable on the course. On Junior Worlds race day, I stayed very focused on what I needed to do and followed what my coaches had told me. The big final was great, I had a really good start and stayed ahead for the whole race, coming over the line in first felt amazing.”
 
“I feel very grateful to be a part of the Australian Snowboard Cross pathway and it’s been very helpful to progress through each stage of it over the past years. Coming through the Emerging Talent Program and participating in events like “Futures” have helped me a lot and are great for the Snowboard Cross community. Josie Baff’s Olympic gold was amazing to see and very inspirational, she is a very hard-working athlete and it was great to see her win.”
 
Also competing for Australia were Angus Young, who finished 10th, Robert Jones in 14th and NSWIS athelte William Martin 17th. In the women’s event, Marcelle Davis‑Cook was 13th, and Lara Walsh 25th.