Livigno, Italy – Freestyle skier Cooper Woods delivered a stunning upset Friday, claiming Australia’s first gold medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and etching his name into the nation’s sporting history.
From Surf to Snow: An Unexpected Olympic Triumph
Cooper Woods’s gold medal win in moguls skiing marks a remarkable journey from the beaches of New South Wales to the peaks of Italy.
- Woods, ranked 20th in the world, entered the Games with modest expectations.
- The 25-year-old’s victory came against seasoned moguls champions Mikael Kingsbury and Ikuma Horishima.
- Woods’s family background in skiing played a significant role in his athletic development.
- He matched Kingsbury’s score but won on a higher turns score.
Few predicted this outcome. Woods had only reached the World Cup podium once – a silver medal at Waterville Valley in 2024 – since joining the tour in 2017, and faced a challenging 2025-26 season leading up to the Olympics. He arrived in Italy openly admitting he “didn’t have any expectations.”
What makes Woods’s victory so surprising? Despite being ranked 20th globally, the Australian skier topped the second qualification round, securing the final starting position and ultimately outperforming the sport’s established stars.
The 25-year-old, who spent his childhood surfing at Pambula Beach on the NSW south coast and refining his skills on the slopes of Perisher, topped the second qualification round and earned the No. 1 ranking for the final, ensuring he skied last. In the final, Woods matched the score of the highly decorated Kingsbury, but his superior turns score secured the gold medal – a significant improvement from his sixth-place finish at the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
“I just wanted to go out and ski my runs and stay true to what I know I can achieve,” Woods said. “To be at the top of the leaderboard after [the second final] … I am amazed that I got it done. It’s not often that you get one over Mikael, so I’ll take it when I can.”
“I haven’t really processed it. I’ve struggled with a lot of self-belief. I’ve had such a good year of training but not competing, and what a time to get it dialled and sorted, when the pressure is at its max. There’s something [that happens] when there’s so much pressure where you can just let it all go and embrace it. Happened in Beijing, too … ‘I got nothing to lose – let’s have a go at it’.”
Woods’s connection to the snow runs deep. His mother, Katrina Woods, is a former aerial skier, and his uncle, Peter Topalovic, has long served as a coach at Perisher and with the national team. Growing up on the south coast of NSW, he began mogul skiing at age 11 with the Perisher Winter Sports Club.
“I’m very proud of the hard work and the sacrifice and the moments that I’ve shared with people around the world and more importantly, my family,” Woods said. “I don’t spend a lot of time back home in Australia, we don’t have a lot of snow, so it’s everyone’s medal, not just mine.”
Four-time Olympian Matt Graham, alongside Jackson Harvey, made it three Australians in the medal round, and has known Woods since they were both 15. The Pyeongchang silver medalist was the first to celebrate with his teammate.
“To be up there, the last man standing, I just told him at the top that this is a privilege, make the most of it, turn by turn and just stay in the moment,” Graham said. “He did that to the best of his ability and he’s standing up there alongside two of the greatest mogul skiers of all time, and he’s on the top step. I’m stoked for him – it’s a win for our team, a win for the Australian Olympic Team, and a win for Australia.”
Australia’s chef de mission Alisa Camplin described the day in Livigno as “magic.” “It was just so special to watch,” she said. “Cooper did three perfect runs – the judges were all about perfection and he was flawless in all three runs. I can’t tell you how hard it is to be that consistent. Cooper’s always been a man that rises to the occasion. We saw him do that in Beijing 2022 … and then he did it again. There wasn’t another man in the field that was flawless. Some people had a couple of harder jumps, but nobody else was flawless. Hats off to Cooper Woods.”
Reflecting on his achievement, Woods joked about a practical use for his gold medal. “I’m probably going to have a few beers,” he said, glancing at his medal and adding, “I might get in trouble for this, but it is a pretty nice-looking beer coaster.”
