The University of Sydney has been well-represented at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by students Holly Crawford, Madii Himbury, James Matheson and alumna Aimee Watson. The four snow sports athletes are part of the 51-strong Australian Olympic Team, with Madii and James among the team’s 20 first-time Winter Olympians.
Holly, a Master of Project Management student, made her fourth Winter Olympic appearance, having made her debut at the Torino Games in 2006, where she finished 18th in the snowboard halfpipe. She moved up the standings at the2010 Vancouver Games, finishing eighth in the same event.
She was on song for a podium finish at the 2014 Sochi Games after finishing with a silver medal at the Olympic test event but a crash three weeks before the Games left her with wrist, rib cartilage and knee injuries (as told to a stunned audience when she received a University Blue last year).
She missed out on a medal at PyeongChang after finishing 10th in her first qualification run and 20th in her second run. She just missed making the finals after finishing 13th overall.
In between the Games, Crawford won Australia’s first snowboard halfpipe World Championship medal, silver at the2009 World Championships in Korea. She ultimately claimed the World Championship crown in 2011, and then won another silver medal in 2013.
Madii, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise & Sport Science) ranked 15th in her first moguls qualifying run and 10th in the second run to qualify for the final where she finished 20th with a score of 68.19.
Madii’s two Australian teammates, Jakara Anthony (75.35) and Britteny Cox (75.08) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Photo Credit: (L-R) Madii Himbury by Madii Himbury via Steve Cuff; James Matheson by James Matheson; Holly Crawford by Australian Olympic Team
James, a Bachelor of Commerce student, began freestyle skiing in 2004 and first emerged on the international moguls scene in 2010 when he qualified for the Europa Cup as a15-year-old.
The following year he was crowned the under-19 Australian moguls champion. In the 2017-18 World Cup season James recorded a personal best result at the first Thaiwoo World Cup, placing seventh and one place off qualifying for his first Super Final.
At PyeongChang he was ranked 10th after his first two qualifying runs with scores of 72.27 and 74.61. He improved on those runs with a score of 75.98 in the first final, but finished15th to miss out on the second.
Australia’s Matt Graham won the silver medal, Australia’s first of the games, with a score of 82.57.
Aimee, an Elite Athlete Program alumna and Sydney University graduate (Bachelor of Veterinary Science, 2011), finished 58th in the Ladies’ Sprint Classic qualifying run (3:44.87), 36.13 seconds behind the winner.
The two-time Olympian finished 68th in the Ladies’ 10km Free.
Another friend of Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness and Sydney University Football Club (SUFC), Jarryd Hughes, claimed a silver medal in the Snowboard Cross. The Olympic medallist was named the Australian Olympic Team’s Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer.
Congratulations to all competitors.
Full event schedule HERE.
