Athlete Jakara Anthony made history a few years prior, now she’s known as Australia’s greatest chance at a gold medal during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 2026 Games are taking place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. Already, the 27-year-old skier is making waves.
Arriving at the Games with the world No 1 ranking, Jakara attempts to defend her Beijing 2022 title. However, moguls are no easy defeat. Italy’s Livigno course is steeper than usual at 28 degrees.
If she wins, Jakara will become the first Australian athlete in history to win back-to-back Winter Olympic gold medals.
“It’s definitely a little different once you’ve achieved that big goal,” she told Vogue Australia. “But I have so many other goals that are not results-based: The jumps I want to compete, how well I want to execute them, the style I want to ski, how fast I want to ski—and they’re all within my control, whereas I can’t control whether I win or not.”
So, while sports-lovers wait to see if Jakara will win gold, here is everything you need to know about the athlete.
Who is Jakara Anthony?
Jakara Anthony was born in Cairns in 1998. Her parents, Daryn Anthony and Sue Johnson met in the mid-90s. Her younger brother Matt was born just over a year later.
Skiing was integrated into her life from the moment she could walk, spending a lot of time on Mount Buller.
She made her World Cup debut at just 16-years-old in 2015, placing 33rd. In the years following, Jakara competed in countless events across China, USA and more.
As of writing, the 27-year-old has an incredible 26 World Cup gold medals and seven Crystal Globes.
What did Jakara Anthony win during the 2022 Beijing Games?
During the 2022 Games in China, Jakara became Australia’s sixth Winter Olympic champion with a score of 83.09 in the women’s moguls.
This win broke the nation’s 12-year gold medal drought.
