Baff knew fellow Aussie gold medalist Cooper Woods growing up, and said his victory a day earlier "sparked a little fire in me".
Inspired by seeing her childhood friend Cooper Woods shock the world to win gold, Australian snowboarder Josie Baff blew her big-name rivals away to collect her own gold medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Gaon Choi stuns Chloe Kim, and Josie Baff makes Aussie history — catch some of the standout moments from the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Instead of the glint of gold, Laura Peel's lasting Olympic memory will be the glittering diamonds of despair in Zhangjiakou, with the 36-year-old ruled out of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina after suffering a knee injury on the eve of the Games.
Australia's most successful Winter Olympics to date came in 2010 with a gold medal in women's snowboard halfpipe and women's ski aerials for Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila respectively, and a silver in men's moguls for Dale Begg-Smith.
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The Olympic gold medal is the last and only thing missing from the resume of the man who might be snowboarding's final great renegade — Scotty James. The Aussie halfpipe rider wants it dearly.
Australian snowboarder Cam Bolton suffered a broken neck in an accident while training at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Live updates from the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday. Get the latest news, results, medal count, TV schedules and highlights from Italy.