[ad_1]
Australian moguls skier Matt Graham has finished second on the FIS World Cup circuit after winning bronze in the season-ending event at Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The 28-year-old qualified fifth for the final but scored 78.42 points in the top-six shoot-out to finish behind local skier Pavel Kolmakov (78.72).
Canadian legend Mikaël Kingsbury (85.67) — who came top of the moguls end-of-season standings — earned his third gold medal of the season.
This World Cup bronze medal was Graham’s third moguls podium appearance in a row, following a silver medal at the recent World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia and a World Cup victory at Deer Valley.
It was Graham’s fourth world-level podium of the season — equalling his two most successful seasons in 2018 and 2017.
Olympic gold medallist Jakara Anthony did not compete in Almaty, but had enough points in hand to claim the moguls World Cup title having won four of the first five events on the circuit.
French star Perrine Laffont, who won the World Cup event in Almaty in Anthony’s absence, did extend her lead in the overall moguls standings — a combination of the points won in moguls and dual moguls events over the course of the season.
For Graham, the number-two ranking has capped a superb return to competitive action after the disappointment of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where he was hampered by a collarbone injury.
Graham claimed his first World Cup gold since 2017 in Deer Valley and won two medals at last month’s World Championships, a silver in moguls and bronze in dual moguls — which will appear in the Olympics for the first time in Milan-Cortina in 2026.
Graham’s dual-medals at the World Championships made him only the second Australian to win two medals in a single competition since Dale Begg-Smith won gold and silver in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, in 2007.
Graham, a three-time Winter Olympian, is also in a chance of finishing in the top three of the dual moguls World Cup rankings, which will take place tomorrow.
[ad_2]
Source link