Winter Olympics briefing: Josie Baff burnishes Australia’s golden aura

. UK edition

Josie Baff throws up her arms in celebration as she clinches victory in the women’s snowboard cross
Josie Baff throws up her arms in celebration as she clinches victory in the women’s snowboard cross. Photograph: Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images

To a backdrop of inflatable kangaroos, the 23-year-old ensured a two-gold haul for her country for the first time since Vancouver 2010

The kangaroos were bouncing and the sun beamed down. If she squinted a little (a lot) then Josie Baff may have just thought she was in her birthplace of Cooma, New South Wales, when she struck gold at Milano Cortina.

Never mind that the sun was reflecting off the pearly white snow in Livigno and the kangaroos were inflatable, held aloft by fans. The 23-year-old looked right at home as she stormed to victory in the women’s snowboard cross, claiming her first Olympic medal and marking the first time since Vancouver 2010 that Australia had celebrated two gold medals at a single Winter Games.

After battling through qualifying on the winding 1.1km course in the Italian Alps, Baff sat in second for much of the proceedings. But midway through the women’s cross final, where the four best snowboarders fly side-by-side down a swirling course, she made her move.

She surged ahead and crossed the line just 0.04sec clear of the Czech Republic’s Eva Adamczykova, who added silver to her glittering Olympic collection after gold at Sochi 2014 and bronze at Pyeongchang 2018. Bronze went to Italy’s Michela Moioli, sending the home crowd into raptures. Baff’s win came hot on the heels of her fellow Australian Cooper Woods, who struck gold 24 hours earlier in the men’s moguls. “Seeing [Woods win] yesterday definitely sparked a little fire in me,” said Baff. “I thought: if he can do it, I can do it too.”

Under sunny skies, Baff jumped up and down on the podium as the anthem played. “To have my name called out and the national anthem played is truly crazy,” she said “I would like to say that I can’t believe it but I kind of can. I feel like I deserve it.”

Despite finishing 17th in the seedings, Baff grew more confident as the pressure built through each heat. “Each round that I make it through, I get less and less nervous,” Baff said. “Even though the pressure theoretically should be getting more and more, I trust myself more and more. I just knew, from no matter what position that I was in out of the start, that I could make a pass and that I had the skills.

“I haven’t won in a very long time, and to win here at this event and have one of the world’s most sought-after gold medals around my neck is absolutely incredible, and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

While Australia celebrated, it was disappointment for Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes. The former world champion exited in the quarter-finals after a tough draw that included both Baff and Adamczykova. “I messed up,” admitted a crestfallen Bankes. “Today is nothing to do with injuries. It’s just a disappointing performance from me and I’m just sorry to everybody watching.” She will now regroup for the mixed team event, where anything can happen in a sport famous for thrills and spills.

Elsewhere, the rifles cracked, the skis flew and France found its sharpshooter king as Quentin Fillon Maillet delivered a masterclass in precision and pace to seize gold in the men’s 10km sprint biathlon, clocking 22min 53.1sec in a performance that left the field scrambling for silver. Here is the headline stat: 10 shots, 10 hits. Zero mistakes.

First out among the top seeds, the 33-year-old laid down a blazing early marker with slick skiing and flawless marksmanship. From that moment, the race became a battle for second. By the finish, he had secured the fourth Olympic gold medal of his career. “The emotions are different from a face-to-face race because when I cross the line, I’m still not sure of anything and it gradually sinks in,” Fillon Maillet said. “I dedicate this result to my partner because we’re expecting a baby – I want to announce it today.” A golden performance and a golden announcement.

Behind him, it was an all-Norwegian duel. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen dug deep on the final stretch, throwing every ounce of energy into the snow to snatch silver. He crossed the line 2.2sec ahead of his teammate Sturla Holm Lægreid and 13.7sec behind the untouchable Frenchman.

Lægreid, who had already taken bronze in the men’s individual earlier in the Games and then made headlines for revealing his affair, had looked set for silver after perfect shooting and a fierce final lap. But Christiansen had just a little more in the tank.

As it stands

The Brits are finally, finally, finally on the board!

1 🇳🇴 Norway 🥇 8 🥈 3 🥉 7 – Total: 18
​2 🇮🇹 Italy 🥇 6 🥈 3 🥉 9 – Total: 18
3 🇺🇸 United States 🥇 4 🥈 7 🥉 3 – Total: 14
4 🇫🇷 France 🥇 4 🥈 5 🥉 1 – Total: 10
5 🇩🇪 Germany 🥇 4 🥈 4 🥉 3 – Total: 11
– – –
12 🇦🇺 Australia 🥇 2 🥈 1 🥉 0 – Total: 3
15 🇬🇧 Great Britain 🥇 1 🥈 0 🥉 0 – Total: 1

Full medal table

Picture of the day

Further reading from the Guardian

Schedule | Results

What to look out for today

Times are all in local time in Milan and Cortina. For Sydney it is +10 hours, for London it is -1 hour, for New York it is -6 hours and San Francisco it is -9 hours.

The last word

Hopefully Bad Bunny’s watching me at the Games. I hope the whole island’s watching – Kellie Delka is Puerto Rico’s sole athlete at Milano Cortina, having moved to the US territory eight years ago after being recruited by the winter sports federation. The 38-year-old competed in skeleton on Friday and will do so again today.

Hit reply or email OlympicBriefing@theguardian.com to get in touch.