Aussie medal party continues with Graham moguls bronze
Melissa Woods |
Veteran Matt Graham has joined Australia’s Olympic medal procession, winning bronze in the men’s dual moguls event in Livigno.
The 31-year-old became Australia’s third moguls medallist at the Milan-Cortina Games, joining Olympic champions Cooper Woods and Jakara Anthony, who won the women’s equivalent a day ago.
It’s Graham’s second medal after winning silver in the individual event at the Pyeongchang games in 2018, with duals added to the program in Italy.
Having been quicker down the course, Graham said he felt relief when the scores flashed up and he saw the medal was his.
“A lot of relief, I knew I had a really good run,” the NSW central coast product said.
“Obviously, I didn’t know what my opponent had done, I knew he was behind me because you could see that but I was just hoping he made a mistake or two in there so I could confirm the bronze.
” When the score came up, it was a lot of relief and and satisfaction.
“It was just great to bounce back from the other day – it was a little bittersweet finishing fifth and knowing I could have done more.”
Graham missed his chance to go for gold when beaten by Japan’s Ikuma Horishima 21-14 in the semi-final.
But he clawed his way onto the podium with a win over another Japanese skier Takuya Shimakawa in the small final, the head-to-head that decided the bronze medal.
With skiers racing side-by-side down the Livigno course, the Australian outscored his rival 20 to 15.
Canadian all-time great Mikael Kingsbury won the gold medal after taking silver in the individual, beating Horishima in the big final.
In a helter-skelter affair, Horishima barely made it to the bottom, gifting retiring Kingsbury an easy victory 30 points to 15.
The three medal winners are all fathers and it was the third time they’ve been on the podium together, after a World Cup finish and the world championships last year.
It was Australia’s record-extending fifth medal of the Olympics.
Woods was seeded through to the second round but exited at that point, losing his rhythm near the top of the course and not even attempting the bottom jump.
The 25-year-old said it meant everything for his long-time teammate to get a medal.
“He’s captain of our team, he’s leader because he works the hardest and he deserves it more than anyone else,” Woods said.
“If you’re not winning, you want your teammate to win … it’s been an incredible few days for our team.”
After a hectic fews days as new Olympic champion, Woods said he had prepared well for his second event before bowing out against American Charlie Mickel.
“It was hard, you know, like it’s different, it’s new feelings,” he said.
“I had a really good couple of days of training and, yeah, it’s just extra noise and I’m just trying to figure it all out, but I’m really proud of the way I held myself the last few days and got myself ready for competition.”
Australian debutants Jackson Harvey and George Murphy also bowed out in the second round.
AAP