IT is hard for some people to get their head around the achievement of Mount Beauty youngster Britteny Cox, who became Australia’s youngest winter Olympian since 1960 at the recent Vancouver Games.
That’s why it it’s easier to leave it to the experts to express just what her effort to come 23rd in the women’s mogul final at the tender age of 15 actually meant.
“Britt is one of the most talented athletes in the Australian Winter Sport athlete pathway,” said Andrew Pattison, of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia.
Peter Topalovic, head coach of the New South Wales Institute of Sport, is also in awe of the smiling sensation.
“Britt is a true shining star in the sport of moguls — she is a role model at just 15 years of age and shows all the necessary ingredients to be a successful elite athlete at the highest level of the sport,” Topalovic said.
His opinion is matched by Peter Judge, head of Canada’s powerful freestyle team, who expects Cox to emulate his former pupil and Australian star, Dale Begg-Smith.
“Dale showed significant aptitude and I’ve seen those same qualities in Britteny Cox at the same age,” Judge said.
“You can tell the difference between people who have an artistic touch and people who have a mechanical touch ... the great ones like Dale have that artistic touch and I can see it in Britteny as well. It’s very rare.”
For Cox, who grew-up in the Alpine village of Falls Creek and currently boards at the Scots School Albury, competing at the Olympics was a dream come true, albeit one that came four years earlier than expected.
“It was such an awesome experience,” she said this week, soon after touching down in Australia.
“It was everything I ever dreamed of and it came to me before I expected it — I wasn’t really thinking about Vancouver but then I had a great result at Deer Valley and got selected.
“It all happened so quickly — I only found out a couple of weeks before the actual Games so I had to rush around and get everything organised, but it was an incredible experience.”
Her father Graeme remembers Britteny’s first forays into her world on two skis.
“Britteny took to skiing straight away from a very young age,” he recalls.
“She entered her first mogul competition at eight where she won the division 5 state interschools moguls championship ... and she has continued to podium ever since.”
Since those formative days, Cox has enjoyed a spectacular rise through the Australian and international ranks, capped off by her somewhat surprising selection for the Vancouver games.
While Cox oozes natural talent, it is also obvious that she possesses determination and commitment that belies her youth.
“Britt’s successes are testimony to the determination and hard work she puts in both on and off the snow,” Graeme says.
“She is required to be away from home often and for extended periods, which is not always easy for a young person, but Britt is tenacious and passionate about following her dream.
“Often, after rising early to train on snow, she spends hours training on the track and in the gym to develop the aerobic and explosive strength, required in her sport to compete at the top level.
“All this, then balancing her school program ... requires enormous self-discipline.”
But Britt wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m getting used to it now, I’ve been travelling and competing overseas for the past couple of years,” she says.
“It can be tough but I keep in touch with my family through Skype and video-calling, so that helps.
“But I realise that to achieve what you want to achieve, you have to put in 110 per cent.”
Initially earmarked to make her Olympic debut in 2014, Britt forced selectors’ hands by achieving a top-30 result at the World Cup at Deer Valley — the last eligible event for athletes to qualify for Olympic selection.
The young star was unaware of the significance of her achievement and travelled to Europe to compete in Europa Cup, where she once again proved herself at the elite level by finishing third in the singles event and qualifying in first place in the dual event.
Then came the biggest competition of all.
While she just failed to make the final at Vancouver, Cox achieved a personal best score of 19.83 in a major international event.
And after an incredible year on the slopes, Graeme Cox believes his daughter could inspire young people of all walks of life.
“Britt is travelling along a journey that can only take her forward,” he said.
“She is sending a message of inspiration to a generation of young people that you can achieve if you believe, are true to yourself, and are passionate enough to work hard to achieve your goals.”
Cox is the latest nominee for the 2010 Norske Skog Young Achiever Award. She will be among 12 nominees who will be honoured during an awards dinner in Albury this month.
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