Australian snowboarders have made a strong impression in the women's big air qualifying at the Winter Olympics, with debutant Meila Stalker pulling off a newly learned trick to join Beijing bronze medallist Tess Coady in the final. The event, however, was not without drama, as fellow Aussie teammate Ally Hickman had a lucky escape from a drone during her performance.
Hickman's Thrilling Performance and Drone Scare
Ally Hickman, a 16-year-old rising star, wowed the field with her first jump, scoring an impressive 85.25 points to sit third early in the competition. Despite her stellar start, Hickman admitted she didn't have another elite-level jump prepared and was simply thrilled to gain Olympic experience. Her run took an unexpected turn when she narrowly avoided being hit by a following drone during that first jump.
"I saw on the replay that I nearly got hit by it but I wasn't aware of it while I was doing it," Hickman said, reflecting on the incident. The near-miss added a layer of excitement to an already intense qualifying round, highlighting the unpredictable nature of outdoor winter sports events.
Stalker's Nerves of Steel and Coady's Tense Wait
Meila Stalker, a 22-year-old from Coolum on the Sunshine Coast, marked herself as a boarder to watch by entering the 12-strong final ranked sixth. After falling on her first jump, Stalker displayed remarkable composure, landing a backside double cork 1080 in her second attempt to score 82.25 points. She then showed nerves of steel on her final jump, scoring 82.75 to leap up the leaderboard, earning congratulations from Australian superstar Scotty James, who was watching on.
"It was the first time doing back dub 10 in a competition, so I learned that on the day I came here, so to be able to put it in in comp mode is pretty cool," Stalker said. "I had so much anxiety throughout the whole day so I think I'm pretty glad to just kind of breathe through it and just get them down."
Tess Coady, who won Olympic bronze in slopestyle in 2022, faced a nervous wait after being the first athlete off the jump in the third round. She eventually secured the last spot in the finals, describing the experience as challenging. "I felt like I was sitting in a pretty good position at the start of the last run, but then just kept getting bumped lower and lower, which is just the worst when you're just waiting and there's like nothing you can do about it," the St Kilda product said.
Global Stars and Other Australian Results
The trio of global superstars who filled the podium four years ago—Austrian Anna Gasser, New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, and Japan's Kokomo Murase—all qualified for the medal round, setting a high standard. Sydney-born Sadowski-Synnott led the way with a score of 172.25 points from her best two jumps.
Meanwhile, in other Australian Olympic news, four-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo finished 18th in the men's luge, while Hugo Hinckfuss and Seve de Campo placed 57th and 58th in the men's skiathlon. The women's big air final is scheduled for Monday morning, promising more thrilling action from the Australian contingent.
