"If she squinted a little (a lot) then Josie Baff may have just thought she was in her birthplace of Cooma, New South Wales, when she struck gold at Milano Cortina. Never mind that the sun was reflecting off the pearly white snow in Livigno and the kangaroos were inflatable, held aloft by fans. The 23-year-old looked right at home as she stormed to victory"
"After battling through qualifying on the winding 1.1km course in the Italian Alps, Baff sat in second for much of the proceedings. But midway through the women's cross final, where the four best snowboarders fly side-by-side down a swirling course, she made her move. She surged ahead and crossed the line just 0.04sec clear of the Czech Republic's Eva Adamczykova, who added silver to her glittering Olympic collection after gold at Sochi 2014 and bronze at Pyeongchang 2018."
"Good luck charm: Australian fans hold up blow-up kangaroos in support of Josie Baff. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images Under sunny skies, Baff jumped up and down on the podium as the anthem played. To have my name called out and the national anthem played is truly crazy, she said I would like to say that I can't believe it but I kind of can. I feel like I deserve it."
Josie Baff won the women's snowboard cross at Milano Cortina, claiming her first Olympic medal and securing Australia a second gold at a single Winter Games for the first time since Vancouver 2010. After qualifying on the 1.1km course in the Italian Alps, she sat second for much of the event before surging midway through the final to win by 0.04 seconds over Eva Adamczykova. Italy's Michela Moioli took bronze. Cooper Woods had won men's moguls the previous day and inspired Baff. Baff rose from 17th in the seedings and grew more confident through each heat.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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