Winter Olympics: Tess Coady opens up on the horror injury that shaped her path to Beijing

Tess Coady goes into the Winter Olympics as one of Australia’s best chances of winning a medal in Beijing. She admits it wasn’t always her destiny. Here’s why

As kick up the backsides go, Tess Coady’s was pretty brutal.

Coady, now one of Australia’s best medal chances at the Beijing Olympics, was, at the time, just 17, revelling in being one of the youngsters of the PyeongChang winter team and her seemingly gilded snowboarding career was gathering apace.

And then in practice for her debut Olympic slopestyle competition, as the high winds swirled over the icy and brutally cold course in Bokwang, the slightly built Coady was blown off the mountain and badly twisted her knee.

Her anterior cruciate ligament was shot, along with her Olympic dream. Instead of enjoying the post competition fun in the Olympic village, Coady was preparing for surgery and then 11 months off the snow.

“It was definitely super tough for sure,” she said, adding “At the time I really wanted to make it as a pro, but I wasn’t there yet. I hadn’t done anything really insane with my career so I wanted to see what I could make happen.”

Tess Coady shows off her considerable skills in Switzerland. Picture: Getty Images

Coady, from St Kilda, had come into snowboarding as she enjoyed family holidays in Mount Buller, having been a competitive gymnast and having a fierce race down the slopes rivalry with her older sister.

But Coady added, of that time four years ago: “I think that I might have just coasted along and never really had the kick up the arse to push my career along, so in hindsight it wasn’t a bad thing, it was something that I really needed.

“When I got back on snow I have kept pushing myself with the tricks and getting out of my comfort zone and I really hit the ground running.’’

Since then Coady has been one of Australia’s best winter athletes. Last month she won the prestigious Laax Open slopestyle competition, nailing one of her newest tricks, a spectacular frontside double 1080. Her high degree of difficulty tricks is at odds with her super-relaxed riding style she has perfected that resembles a casual stroll to the shops.

Over the past three years Coady has been training at Thredbo and in Absolut Park in Flachau, Austria with her Californian coach Stan Woo. The reigning Olympic champion Anna Glasser of Austria, trains at the same resort and the two have hit it off.

Tess Coady with aerial skier — and Australia’s flag-bearer — Laura Peel at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Picture: Steve Cuff

“We’ve ridden together a bunch, she has always been a massive role model for me, I just love watching her ride and to have her train with us is super fun. We really feed off each other. I see her do a trick and I’m like ‘all right, I really want to try something like that now’ so we try and one up each other in the best way,’’ Coady said.

Last May, Coady was able to sneak up to the water training ramp at the Geoff Henke training centre in Queensland and because of lockdown ended up there for more than a month while the aerials and moguls teams were also training.

Coady has become firm friends with them all especially during the Covid restrictions and she said many members of the Australian Olympic team message and support each other in every competition.

When Coady competes in Beijing- her first competition is the Big Air on Monday, and then in slopestyle on February 13 – she will be inspired by three time Olympian Alex “Chumpy” Pullin, who died while spearfishing on the Gold Coast in 2020.

Pullin had taken Coady under his wing when she first started doing boarder cross as an 11 year old, and even though she switched disciplines Coady said she wants to remember Chumpy with a smile because he was so inspiring.

Originally published as Winter Olympics: Tess Coady opens up on the horror injury that shaped her path to Beijing