Winter Olympics 2018: Agony and ecstasy for Britt Cox, Jakarta Anthony

Britt Cox and Jakarta Anthony illustrated the agony and the ecstasy of the Winter Olympics on the moguls hill at Bokwang.

Britt Cox of Australia during the Freestyle Skiing Womens Moguls Final on day two of the PyeongChang. Picture: Getty images.

Australia’s mogul skiers Britt Cox and Jakara Anthony illustrated the agony and the ecstasy of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on the moguls hill at Bokwang, both just shy of winning a medal.

World champion Cox, from Falls Creek was fighting back tears as she described how her brother Hamish had told her he loved her after her finals effort, at the time knowing that striving too hard on the first big air jump had left one of her turns with split skis and the top of her run a little out of kilter.

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Having made the final six, Cox, 23, was marked down in fifth position, and she was trying so hard not to be disappointed, knowing that a repeat of her earlier run to make the super final would have won her a medal.

Beside her Anthony, just 19, and born in the snow-free city of Cairns before moving to Barwon Heads in Victoria as a youngster sported a wide grin — after out-performing all expectations to eclipse Cox and finish in fourth position. Anthony said she tried to relax and “do what I know I can do’’ in the final.

Cox hugged her team mate and told her how proud she was of her performance.

Ranked 14th in the world coming into the Olympics, Anthony posted a career high score of 75.35. The judges loved Anthony’s smooth mogul turns, even though the top of her run wasn’t as dynamic as that of Cox.

Australia's Jakara Anthony competes in the women's moguls final. Picture: AFP.

While the future prospects for Anthony appear strong, the result was less than impressive for Cox, who appeared to have struggled in the Olympic competition. Only her second last run resembled the aggressive yet stylish effort which saw her dominate the world cups and world championship last season. But Cox said she had been flexible about her Olympic preparation and agreed with coach Steve Desovitch to miss the last world cup and concentrate on fitness. She said she would do the same thing again.

“I only had one thought coming into these Olympics and that was to go for it in the final,’’ said Cox, ‘’Unfortunately coming off the first jump I went big into the first few turns with a few ski splits and that's what cost me the points.

“I went big and I went fast and it didn’t pay off for me in the super final, but I achieved my goal of going for it and for that I’m proud of my performance.’’

Frenchwoman Perrine Laffont eclipsed Canadian star Justine Duffour-Lapointe and Kazak Yulia Galysheva to win the gold medal in the event held amid a snowstorm.

Anthony said visibility on the course was fine and the bitter temperatures of minus 12 had kept the moguls firm. But organisers were fortunate as an hour after the event finished the wind picked up to gale force and the mountain was enveloped in a severe blizzard.