As we enter the second week of the Winter Olympics all Aussie eyes in Livigno Snow Park turn to Indra Brown. The 16-year-old first time Olympian has arrived in town, mum Anne Brown, in tow and ready to hit pipe training in snow laden conditions.
She’s been training in Laax in Switzerland, and may or may not have been working on some new tricks that she may or may not lay down in the pipe this week in the last freeski event of the Games. Though with her recent exceptional results she may or may not need to.
The FIS World Cup rookie from Melbourne has already touched Winter Olympic gold, running into moguls legend Cooper Woods on the Main Street of Livigno who handed over his medal for her to see.
There’s a good chance she may well have a medal of any colour hanging around her own neck by the weekend. Scroll down for five reasons why.
She’s top of the leaderboard
Brown currently holds the yellow bib as top of the leaderboard on the FIS World Cup circuit, not just for Halfpipe Ski Women either, but also the Overall Park & Pipe and is in line for both Crystal Globes in her opening season.
Three medals from just four starts
She’s taken bronze, then silver, then gold from just four starts on the FIS World Cup circuit. Enough said.
Aspen X Games rookie legend
She scored an Aspen X Games competition invitation in her first season on the circuit (at the time she was 15 years-of-age). Then she went and won silver, becoming the youngest female skier to medal in SuperPipe at X Games.
Brown’s experience under lights at X Games in front of a crowd has also prepared her for the halfpipe at the Winter Olympics which, unlike her FIS events so far, will also be held under lights.
She’s been on the podium with the best already
She’s beaten FIS World Cup champions and Winter Olympic medalists, standing on the silver podium above 2018 Winter Olympic champion, Cassie Sharpe, in bronze at the X Games.
Brown also shared her first ever podium with Beijing Olympic Champion Eileen Gu (gold) and FIS World Champion Zoe Atkin (silver) at the Secret Garden World Cup in December.
She has Eileen Gu’s former coach
Jamie Melton coached Eileen Gu from the age of 10, he was also the head coach of the Chinese 2022 Winter Olympic Big Air Training Team and the Chinese National Slopestyle team and was instrumental in Gu’s success. The American now coaches Brown. Count that as a good thing.
If she podiums, the crowd will go crazy. She’s one of the most likeable athletes going. If she doesn’t, the crowd will still go crazy because we know how many years of competition she has ahead of her and the progression she’ll bring to the sport.
You can watch Indra Brown in Freeski Halfpipe Qualifications on Thursday evening local time, Friday morning Australia time. Full Winter Olympics Schedule in Aussie time zone here.
