Aussie snowboarder Tess Coady won Australia’s first medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday, claiming bronze in the women’s snowboard slopestyle just hours before moguls skier Jakara Anthony won our first gold.
Coady nailed two of her three runs in the 12-woman final, saving her best for last with 84.15 off the final run to secure the bronze.
She told SEN’s Dwayne’s World she was able to put pressure out of her mind.
“To be honest, the finals day for me was so much more relaxing than the qualifying day,” she said. “I always find qualifying a lot harder, a lot more stressful.
“On finals day it was kind of crazy, I didn't feel that much pressure. I just knew what I had to go and do and I knew that I could do it. At the end of the day, all I wanted to do was land some good runs that I was proud of.”
The medal meant even more to 21-year-old Coady, having fought back to the elite level after tearing her ACL during a training run at PyeongChang 2018.
“It's been a pretty crazy four years,” she said. “That was obviously a pretty heavy low point for me but this is a really high one. It's been a wild ride but I'm so grateful for everything.
“It's seriously been the most insane 24 hours. I'm feeling so much love from everyone and so much hype and happiness. It's been so sick.”
Coady’s best score in the final kept her almost three points clear of fourth place, which she put down to landing some of her best tricks when it counted.
“It’s pretty hard sometimes to link up the bigger tricks together because you’ve got to put so much focus and energy into every single one,” she said. “I was so stoked to land them in a run all together.
“With an extreme sport, so much of it is a massive mental battle. The feeling you get when you land your tricks or you get on the podium, it's just so incredibly rewarding. It’s seriously like nothing I've ever felt in my life.”
New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott took out the event with a huge score of 92.88, winning her nation’s first ever Winter Olympic gold medal.
American Julia Marino claimed silver, with 87.68.
The snowboarding community is a tight-knit one, even at the top level, and Coady reflected on the unique culture of her sport.
“Everyone's definitely pretty competitive but at the end of the day we're all pretty hype to be out there riding and getting this opportunity,” she said.
“Those girls are some of my best friends and it was so much fun to share that experience with them. The vibe was so good, everyone was just hyping each other up at the top and that moment at the bottom was so insane too. It was heaps of fun.
“It’s kind of the culture you're brought up on in snowboarding. It's a pretty chilled out sport, it's a lot of fun and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. I ride well when I'm relaxed and having fun.”
The Big Air event is still to come for Coady in Beijing, with qualifying starting on February 14 and the final the following day.
“I'll definitely have a crack,” she said.
“But I just feel so stoked to walk away with exactly what I wanted. It's awesome.”