Winter Olympics 2022: Why Aussie moguls star Cooper Woods-Topalovic is a real-life hero
He showed us his bravery in Beijing, but new Aussie moguls star Cooper Woods-Topalovic has always had a massive ticker, having saved a friend from drowning when he was just 12.
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If Olympic medals were handed out for acts of bravery, Australia’s new skiing sensation Cooper Woods would win hands down every time.
In his first appearance at the Winter Olympics, Woods showed everyone in Australia that he’s got a massive heart – though few people have any idea just how courageous he really is.
Nine years ago – when Woods was just 12 – he saved a friend from drowning with an incredible act of selfless commitment.
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Relaxing with friends at a popular waterfall on the New South Wales south coast, Woods spotted one of his friends climbing alone along a rock face, then suddenly losing her footing, slipping and tumbling off the cliff.
She hit her head on the way down, losing consciousness, and didn’t resurface after tumbling badly hurt into a pool 10 metres below.
Just a kid himself, Woods instantly realised the seriousness of the situation so threw himself off the cliff ledge to reach the girl.
With no time to waste, he pulled her out of the water, resuscitated her and administered first aid until emergency services arrived.
His bravery was formally acknowledged when he won the 2013 National Child of Courage award and the girl, a school friend, personally thanked him for saving her life.
Anyone who watched Woods’ incredible performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics will now understand why the judges singled him out for the award.
The Olympics is the one event that tests both the physical and mental courage of every competitor because the extra pressure can be suffocating, especially in moguls, one of the most difficult and frightening sports at the Winter Olympics.
But Woods handled the occasion like an old pro, navigating his way through two rounds of qualifiers then two more rounds of finals in the men’s moguls in Beijing.
Showing no signs of nerves, he made it all the way to the super final – which is reserved for the best six mogul skaters in the world.
And although he didn’t finish on the podium, making the final was proof why he’s been tipped as a rising star in Australian winter sports.
“I’ve just been working towards this for my entire life, my entire ski career. To stand up there in the super final, it was just a starstruck moment,” he told Channel 7.
“I’m a little bit lost for words. I just stuck to the plan with my coaches and we worked off the mistakes on the Q1 (first round of qualifying) and those mistakes pulled through.
Asked why he was able to handle the pressure so well, he replied: “I think it might just be like the Olympic thing, it brings the greatness out of you.
“I was very motivated for my Q1 run. It was a bit slow and the judges didn’t really like that too much so we worked really hard over the last few days watching video and today was just about going faster.”
I’m better than that’: Aussie star’s tears after shock exit
—Jacquelin Magnay
Matt Graham was inconsolable at the bottom of the Beijing Olympic moguls run, saying he was embarrassed to have been bumped out of the finals with an uncharacteristic error.
The Olympic silver medallist from four years ago, was hugged by his sister, Eliza, a physiotherapist on the Australian team, after a tearful interview with journalists.
Graham had spent 10 weeks off the snow after breaking his collarbone in Sweden before Christmas, but he wasn’t offering that as any excuse.
Graham, 27, had been bundled out of the Olympic competition after landing slightly off centre on one of his tricks and then lost his rhythm on the final run out. He failed to make the top 20.
“It’s tough to describe, it hurts hell more than the collarbone did,’’ he said, wiping away tears.
“No, I don’t think (the injury) prohibited me at all.”
Graham said he had thought he was handling the pressure and expectations despite having a poor qualifying run on Thursday but said his Olympics finished with a simply bit of windy tailwind that accelerated him through a couple of bad turns.
Graham said he was feeling so bad, a stark contrast to the “elation and satisfaction” of PyeongChang.
“I just wish I could have done better than this. This is my biggest down I think I’ve ever felt.
“I wanted to chase that dream again, it’s really hard, I’ve broken bones in my life and it hurts a lot less than this. I feel embarrassed. I am so much better than that.”
Graham’s parents Steve and Debbie wished they were in Beijing to give him a big hug after the event.
“He shouldn’t be embarrassed,” Steve told Channel 7. “And that’s sad.
“How can you be embarrassed to be an Olympian, really? The guy is a champion. Three-time Olympian. Silver medallist to boot. He is Australia’s pin-up boy.
“It is going to take a while but he will be fine.”
Debbie added: “He will be home on Wednesday and both of us will be there to pick him up and dust him off. Life goes on. It’s just another competition.”
While Graham missed out, Olympics debutant Cooper Woods-Topalovic roared onto the big stage at the Beijing Winter Olympics, stunning his mogul rivals with a series of slick qualifying runs to finish sixth in the super final.
But the overall honours went to another keen youngster, Volter Wallberg, who the event with a super aggressive and near-flawless final run to snare Sweden’s first medal of the Games, relegating the king of the moguls, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, to the silver medal. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima won the bronze, earning big points for a huge cork 1080 on the final jump.
But Woods-Topalovic, the 21-year-old from Pambula on the NSW south coast, and who skis at Perisher, relished the big-time atmosphere, and the minus-22 degree temperatures with quick but controlled turns down the knee-bumping course to even make final of six.
During every stage of the competition, Woods-Topalovic – ranked a complete outsider and having just scraped into the Olympic team in the last couple of weeks – showed he was a big-time competitor and much to the shock of his rivals. In the final, he looked smooth but had tricks of lesser difficulty and scored 78.88 points.
Cooper-Topalovic was thrilled at his effort, pumping the air and yelling “woo”.
Woods-Topalovic’s uncle, Peter, has been one of the key coaches and motivators of the Australian team.
Fellow Australian Brodie Summers finished in 10th place in his third Olympics.
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Originally published as Winter Olympics 2022: Why Aussie moguls star Cooper Woods-Topalovic is a real-life hero
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