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Livigno: Cooper Woods had never won a World Cup gold, let alone an Olympic medal.
And yet, he knew he was a threat when he went to drop for the men’s moguls final at the 2026 Olympics on Thursday.
“I feel like I’m skiing with nothing to lose at the moment. And when I ski like that, I feel dangerous,” he said.
Olympic champion Cooper Woods.Credit: Getty Images
Not only was Woods dangerous enough to win a medal, he was good enough for it to be gold, as he etched his name into history, delivering Australia’s first podium finish of Milano Cortina to become Olympic champion.
“A pretty nice-looking beer coaster,” Woods joked of his medal, which was almost instantly broken, as the medal separated from the ribbon while celebrating with his family.
Competing at his second Winter Olympics, Woods snatched the top prize from Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, one of the greatest moguls skiers of all time, with the last run of the final at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park.
As he trundled over to the Australian press – one of whom was his aunt, who works for another Australian outlet – Woods choked up and fought back tears when asked how ‘Olympic champion’ sounded next to his name.
“I haven’t really processed it,” an emotional Woods said.
“This season I’ve really struggled with a lot of self belief. I’ve had such a good year of training, but not competing, and what a time to get it dialled and sorted. When the pressure is at its max.”
Woods hasn’t made a World Cup final this 2025-26 season, he’s never finished at the top of the podium, and he’s never ‘dropped’ last in a final as the top-ranked competitor. Until Thursday.
“I kept reminding myself that it is a pleasure to drop last,” he said. “I’ve never dropped last in my career, and I was dropping last behind some serious heavy hitters. I just need to relax up there, got a good coach, he kept me dialled in, and we got it done.”
“Let’s go!“: Cooper Woods celebrates after winning gold at the men’s moguls final.Credit: Getty Images
The 25-year-old, who qualified in first position, showed nerves of steel to produce a score of 83.71 – the same number Kingsbury, a three-time Olympic medallist, also achieved.
But because of Woods’ higher turns score – 48.4 to Kingsbury’s 47.7 – he won the gold, sparking euphoric scenes among the many Australian supporters at the venue when his number flashed up on the screens.
Matt Graham, Australia’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony and a four-time Olympian, picked him up and lifted him into the air in celebration.
Gold medallist Cooper Woods of Team Australia celebrates with teammate Matt Graham.Credit: Getty Images
“To be up there, the last man standing, I just told him it’s a privilege. Make the most of it, just turn-by-turn, stay in the moment,” Graham said.
“And he did that to the best of his ability, and he’s standing up there amongst two of the greatest mogul skiers of all time, and on the top step. I’m just stoked for him. It’s a win for our team, it’s a win for the Australian Olympic team, it’s a win for Australia.”
It is the nation’s 20th overall medal in the history of the Winter Olympics and seventh gold, and the fifth in moguls freestyle skiing, a discipline Australia has excelled at for many years.
The performance represents an amazing turnaround by Woods, who finished 15th in the initial stage of qualifying on Tuesday, missing the initial cut-off that would have taken him straight into the final.
That display left him down in the dumps and seeking external validation.
“After qualification one I had a pretty deep meeting with my sports psychologist and I just felt pretty lost as an athlete,” Woods said.
“I felt like I skied my heart out in that Q1, and we actually talked about, ‘Oh, what happens if we turn it around in a couple of days?’ It’s crazy what has actually happened in a couple of days.
“I was pretty nervous up top on that last run. I kind of had a bit of a mentality to try to let it loose today, and then I’m like, ‘This is the final round, and I’m dropping last; what’s going on here?’ My coach, Bobby Carroll, he dialled me in.”
Woods, who grew up on the NSW South Coast, made a strong sixth-placed finish in his Olympic debut four years ago and has credited former Wallabies captain John Eales – his mentor through the Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship program – for helping him refine his mental preparation for competition.
He has deep roots in the sport: both of his parents were part of the Australian aerials team during the 1990s, and he is the nephew of Peter Topalovic, who was the national moguls coach across the 2000s and 2010s.
Woods’ best finish this season was ninth place in Finland in December, but he managed to produce the goods on the biggest stage of them all, a day after hot favourite Jakara Anthony missed the podium in the women’s final.
Australia had three men in the final, with Graham coming fifth and Jackson Harvey eighth.
Harvey was similarly emotional, fighting back tears after Woods was announced as Olympic champion.
“That was pretty cool. He deserves that one, so proud of Coop and Matt and all the girls. The Aussies put on a pretty damn good show today,” Harvey said.
“We had three guys in the top eight, and two girls in the top eight, and we only have seven here, and the other two athletes are skiing incredibly well. So I think it should be pretty obvious to anyone watching that Australia’s pretty good at moguls skiing.”
The bronze medal went to Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who was the bronze medallist in this event at the last Winter Olympics and led the World Cup standings coming into these Games.
Cooper Woods on the podium with Mikael Kingsbury and Ikuma Horishima.Credit: AP
None of them are done yet. Dual moguls is making its Olympic debut this year and all three of them, as well as George Murphy, who did not make the final, will compete again, as will the women’s skiers, including Anthony, Charlotte Wilson and Emma Bosco.
That is, if Woods can keep his partying under wraps. “I’m probably going to have a few beers, I’m not going to lie,” he said with a cheeky grin.
As family, friends and media were moved along, there was only one place for Wood’s entourage to end up: “Let’s go to the pub.”
The Winter Olympic Games is broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
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