Dual purpose: Graham’s golden mission in ‘hairy’ first
Murray Wenzel |
Airborne, spinning upside down, barely a metre from your rival in a winner-takes-all battle that now carries the prize of Olympic gold.
The dual moguls freestyle skiing event will debut as an Olympic event at Milano Cortina next February and present Matt Graham an additional chance at a second medal in his fourth Games.
“You can see them, hear them, feel them,” the 31-year-old explains.
“Sometimes if you’re on two centre lines you’re 150cm from each other and spinning off axis.
“It gets pretty hairy in the air.”
Both single and dual moguls are scored by judges combining technique, aerial manoeuvres, and speed.
But the latter’s duelling nature means it’s a simpler, cutthroat scenario.
“In singles it’s you verse the mountain but duals, you just have to beat the person next to you … so a lot more aggressive, a lot more exciting,” Graham said.
“It’s a little easier for the couch expert to understand and it’s just a knockout, all the way to the end hopefully.”
Graham contested his first World Cup in 2010 as a 15-year-old and won Olympic moguls silver at PyeongChang 2018.
He’d won the Crystal Globe as the leading moguls skier on the World Cup scene ahead of Beijing’s 2022 showpiece but broke his collarbone in the build-up and, while he still competed, was bitterly disappointed to be well off the pace.
That injury required four rounds of surgery when the bone wouldn’t heal but, with retirement on the horizon, Graham has won four World Cup medals since including gold in Finland earlier this month.
“It was a two-year process to fix what was meant to be a relatively simple injury and that put a bit of strain on the last cycle, but I did it with a lot of tenacity and enjoyed the struggle,” he said.
“There’s that motivation to get some redemption and you don’t know when your last run is.
“I’m 31 now, had a child and got married … a bit’s happened since the last Games but I’m still loving it, making the most of everything.”
He thinks that wisdom will give him an edge in the duals event when heart rates rise.
“I was more a single mogul specialist and dual was an after thought,” he said.
“Now it’s in the Olympics … I’ve balanced my focus on both a lot more.
“It’s easy in duals to push a bit hard, make mistakes, crash and burn. But I’ve found my limit and sweet spot to contest.”
Beijing Olympic champion Jakara Anthony won gold in Finland too on her injury comeback while Cooper Woods was sixth there and will be a medal chance in Italy.
Charlotte Wilson, 20, is another emerging moguls star and there is optimism Australia’s team, to be finalised in January, can eclipse Beijing’s best Games haul of one gold, two silver and one bronze.
Scotty James (snowboard), Laura Peel (aerials), Bree Walker (bobsled), Danielle Scott (aerials) and Josie Baff (snowboard cross) have all recently been on the World Cup podium.
“We have so many medal chances across the board,” Graham said.
“In Sochi (2014), we were very young and you could see the potential building with Scotty and Laura.
“There’s been this long period for us and we’re all still doing pretty well and we have these young guys coming up.
“It could be great. But winter sport … you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“You’re not swimming down a pool looking at a black line … it can go pear-shaped very, very quickly.”
AAP
