Australia’s first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG) snowboard cross mixed teams medal, bronze, highlights day two of Gangwon 2024.
Snowboard Cross – Abbey and William celebrated after maiden medal
Abbey Wilson and William Martin have won Australia’s first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG) snowboard cross mixed teams medal, claiming bronze in Gangwon, South Korea today.
In finishing right behind the strong favourites for the event, France’s two mixed teams, Australia claimed its first medal for the 2024 edition of the WYOG.
In strong form from start to finish, the Australian team crossed the line just 0.26 seconds behind second place, France’s Maja-Li Iafrate Danielsson and Bejamin Niel, with France’s team of Lea Casta and Jonas Chollet claiming gold.
Jindabyne local Abbey Wilson, who yesterday finished the women’s snowboard cross event in fourth place, said she was happy she was able to come out and land on the podium today alongside her teammate.
“There are no words for it, it feels amazing to win this medal,” Abbey said. “I was over the moon with my results yesterday, I just came out and tried to put myself in the same position and ended up with a bronze, so I am stoked.”
Biathlon – Strong skiing takes Australia into a top-15 finish
Australia fielded a duo of Ava McAnn and Phoenix Sparke in the single mixed relay 6km (W) + 7.5km (M) and together they recorded a top-15 finish to better yesterday’s performances in the individual events.
Ava's fastest of her two legs came at the start, clocking 11:49.2, which ranked 15th out of the women's field on the first leg.
Phoenix’s best leg was his second, where he recorded the 7th fastest split time amongst the men, 13:11.6, on the last leg to move Australia up from 18th to place 14th overall (48:45.3) in the 30-team event.
“The skiing felt strong and it was good to have my teammates there supporting me,” Phoenix said.
“The shooting could have been better in some parts but overall it was also good.”
There’ll be one last outing for Australia’s biathletes on Tuesday when the women’s 6km sprint and the men’s 7.5km sprint takes place at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.
Short Track Skating – Aditya 34th in 1000m with one event left in Games campaign
Aditya Nghiem lined up for Australia in the men’s 1000m, needing to be one of the two fastest in his four-man heat to guarantee qualification for the quarter-finals. The boy from Richlands in Queensland finished fourth in his heat (1:43.999) for 34th overall.
Aditya has one more opportunity to take to the ice for the men’s 500m on Monday.
Ice Hockey – Preliminary rounds continued with Korea and Italy match-ups
The women's 3x3 ice hockey team caught two high-calibre opponents who showed their power in handing Australia defeat at the Gangeung Hockey Centre.
Against Korea the Aussies knocked in a couple of goals in the third period, after the host nation built a 9-0 lead with the final score becoming 12-2. Then five hours later against it was tough going against Italy in a 15-4 loss.
"The score did not reflect how well we worked, we all put in so much effort," Annika Schmitz said.
"It was really nice looking up and seeing my parents cheering. We love all the support coming from the sea of yellow in the stands."
The team will play two more preliminary rounds tomorrow against Hungary and Mexico hoping to create some momentum.
Day 3 Schedule
Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games
Australia's largest ever Winter Youth Olympic Team competed at Gangwon 2024. The 47-strong Australian Team competed across eight disciplines.
