INTERNATIONAL: Jakara Anthony of Australia won gold in the women's freestyle skiing moguls event on Sunday, barreling down a steep course and landing backflips to earn her country its first gold medal at the Winter Games in over a decade.
Seconds after completing her run, Anthony embraced her teammates and broke down in tears.
"It's pretty mind-blowing," the 23-year old said with an Australian flag draped around her shoulders.
The Australian athlete, who came fourth in the 2018 Games, said she knew she would be "stoked" whatever the result after her explosive run down the challenging course.
Anthony nabbed the top score on Sunday of 83.09 in the final run that featured a cork 720, a trick she said she only began performing this year.
"I'm just over the moon. I think I'm still waiting for it to hit me a bit but I'm so, so happy and proud of what I was able to achieve tonight."
Born in a small coastal town, Anthony started skiing at the age of 4 with her family, and she made her debut at her first World Cup event in the United States as a 16-year-old. At the 2021 World Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, she placed fourth overall.
On Twitter, the Australian Olympic Committee said Sunday marked the most successful day in the country's Winter Olympics history.