Aussie winter athletes Scott, Baff win World Cup gold in Europe

Veteran Danielle Scott and teenager Josie Baff have continued Australia’s spectacular start to the European winter sport season by striking World Cup gold.

Scott, a three-time Olympic freestyle skier, won the season-opening aerials event in Ruka, Finland for the fourth World Cup final triumph of her career.

Her victory followed Australian Olympic champion Jakara Anthony’s season-opening moguls victory in Ruka 24 hours earlier.

Scott’s 99.05-point run saw her finish well clear of Canada’s silver medallist Marion Chenault (90.59) and Kazakhstan’s bronze winner Zhanbota Aldabergenova (80.04).

Australian teammate Laura Peel — the 2020 and 2021 overall World Cup aerials champion — had been heavily fancied to take the Ruka crown, however, she finished 11th with a score of 70.11.

“I can’t stop smiling. It’s been a really good day, making it through each round as number one,” Scott said.

In the French resort of Les Deux Alpes, 19-year-old Baff raced to her first global victory in the snowboard cross, outpacing her opponents in the four-racer final for the breakthrough triumph.

Baff was left almost speechless after taking her first World Cup victory in just her eighth race.

She had to fight off the challenge of 16-year-old French phenomenon Lea Casta before asserting herself at the end of the race.

The event had been put back a day because of heavy wind and snowfall but Baff took the tough conditions in her stride.

“I’m very overwhelmed right now, I still can’t believe it’s happened,” she said.

AAP/ABC