Britteny Cox Pre-Beijing 2022 Interview
We're excited to welcome back to the show today three-time Australian Olympic Mogul skier Britteny Cox to chat about her preparation leading up to the Beijing Olympics, her experiences in PyeongChang and everything else in between! We find out from Britteny just how her preparation has been in the lead up to the Olympics as well as just how her experiences in 2018 have helped along the journey to Beijing. We also learn more about the attention the sport has gotten in Australia and just why the future is looking incredibly bright for mogul skiing moving forward. Added to this we learn a little bit more about her relationship with King Dale Begg-Smith and also just how we can improve our mogul commentary heading into Beijing 2022. It's an incredible chat that you will love so get to listening!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
COLIN HILDING: Welcome to Off The Podium, an Olympics podcast, as we are excited today to revisit one of our all-time favourite Olympians, one of our original guests, as far as winter athletes go, I believe. The one and only Britteny Cox, the Australian former world champion, crystal globe winner and three-time Olympian, almost four-time Olympian. By the time you're listening to this, it's gonna be four-time Olympics, and maybe we won't commentate this time because we might have been the problem last time around. We don't know, we can't confirm, but this was exciting. Ben, thank you for joining me on this one. You weren't there the first time around.
BEN WATERWORTH: I wasn't invited, apparently. I'm not allowed to talk to mogul skiers because I do believe this is the first time I've ever actually spoken to a mogul skier. You did the Andy and the Britteny interviews back in the day. So yeah, I'm excited to be allowed to be able to join today, Colin. Thank you for inviting me.
COLIN HILDING: Well, I was going to say thank you for inviting me because the funny thing is about this is we do, well, you're doing a lot of interviews right now because they just, they come, I don't know, about six or seven per week.
BEN WATERWORTH: Days basically sometimes.
COLIN HILDING: Yeah, exactly. Obviously, I don't always have time, but when you basically said, oh yeah, Britteny Cox is going to be on whatever date, I'm like, okay, I'm there. Like, doesn't matter mogul skier, I'm there. Especially when we talked before. I mean, it was a great interview the first time around. So I'm glad that of the return guests we're getting, like her and Evan Dunphy, they're people who are worthy of coming back on a second time.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, Evan, of course, was our very first guest. You did that one back in the day. And yeah, with Britteny, so it wasn't quite our first ever Winter Olympian, but still one of the very OGs within the first 10 that we obviously had. So yeah, I enjoyed this chat thoroughly. I mean, I enjoyed the first chat you did with her. It was a great interview. And I think the great thing I love about Britten, sort of what she brings to the table is that she's very knowledgeable, very well-spoken, a lot of fun, like all the boxes you want ticked as a guest on a show. So it's never a challenge to interview somebody like Britteny. And she loves the sport. She loves promoting this sport in Australia as well. And we talk a lot sort of about the promotion of the sport and just how much not only winter sports, but mogul skiing has progressed. And the fact too that I think this is the first time I've ever gotten a chance to speak to a teammate of King Dale Begg-Smith. So this kind of works well. For me, I've spoken about Dale at length on this show to other athletes, but this is legitimately somebody who basically was trained and taken under the wing of the great Dale Begg-Smith. So we get a bit of fun talking about King Dale.
COLIN HILDING: So let's just call this part too. If you wanna go back and hear about her entering the sport and first couple of Olympics, go back and listen to the original Britteny Cox interview. But here, we're gonna basically pick up and find out what she's been up to the last couple of years. Because I think that was one of the things that was really intriguing for me is that when we did the first interview, she's sort of just broken onto the scene or really had her breakout season, which is kind of one of the reasons why I wanted to contact her in the first place instead of just a million Canadians. And now so much has happened since then. So great interview, listen to it right here, Brit Cox. We're thrilled to bring you another return guest here. I believe it might be our first winter Olympian who's returned to the show for a fall-up interview. I got confirmation nod going on. So yes, our first return winter Olympian. And I'm especially thrilled because it's in, at least in my mind, the greatest sport in mankind has ever had, which is moguls. Four years ago, we were thrilled to be able to talk to Australia's greatest mogul skier, Brit Cox. And now she's back. Brit, thanks so much for rejoining us on Off The Podium.
BRITTENY COX: Thanks so much, Colin. It's great to be back with you guys. And I absolutely love that you said mogul skiing is your favourite. So, yeah, you're in the good books with me so far.
COLIN HILDING: You'll see, I've got a shrine to moguls events I have in the background. So make sure to add yourself to that next time in Calgary or something like that. But quite a bit's happened since last time you were on the show. I mean, you've gone on to win the Crystal Globe, World Championship, compete in the Olympics. I mean, I'm guessing it's been a busy four years for you?
BRITTENY COX: Absolutely. It's been a huge couple of years for me. Yeah, so back in the 2016-2017 season was kind of my breakout season where first event of the year, I topped the podium, my first ever World Cup win. And that was a long time goal for me. So I was just super excited to start that season on a high. And then it just kind of all spiralled from there. I kept having consistent results and I managed to hold on to the yellow bib throughout the entire season and finish with the Crystal Globe and then cap that off with the World Championship gold. So it was super, super exciting and a massive year to lead into the Pyeongchang Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'd love to quickly ask about the Crystal Globe. We recently spoke to Laura Peel about what I think is one of the greatest trophies in sport. And she was telling some fun stories about transporting the damn thing back across the world. Did you have to bring that back to Australia at all, Britten? What's that like kind of speaking to Qantas or something along those lines about, hey, like I've got this kind of weird thing that I need to check in. Can I take this in the cabin? And do you just put it next to your seatbelt on? Hey, just don't mind my Crystal Globe here.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, it's a little bit of an odd item to travel with, that's for sure. And also very fragile. So it's made of glass and I received it at the last World Cup of the season, which is in China. So I flew and then from there, we went to Spain for the World Championships before coming home. So there are a few different stops that I had to actually take it along with me. And I had, it comes in this big metal case. It kind of looks like a giant sort of esky, but it's in a metal case. So people are like, what is that? It kind of looks like you're transporting an organ on ice or something. And so you can imagine me carrying that through the airport and definitely getting stopped at every single airport security. And I knew from what other people had told me is do not check it in. You've got to take it as carry on because a couple of years prior, quite a long time prior actually, Jackie Cooper had given her Crystal Globe to my coach to transport back to Australia. And he checked it in. Anyway, he got to the other end, to Melbourne, whatever, and opened up the box. And this whole thing was just in shards. So I was carrying this thing, protecting it with all my life because I didn't want it to smash. And I had it just on the seat next to me on the plane. I had it like packed in with blankets and that kind of thing. But it was definitely worth it because it's a very special piece of memorabilia. And I'm really lucky to have it on the shelf at home now.
COLIN HILDING: Because I was going to ask, I'm like, I don't think I've ever heard anybody say this before. Is this something you have to give back the next season, like the Stanley Cup? So you get to keep this. It's yours forever.
BRITTENY COX: You get to keep it, yeah, forever. And I actually ended up getting the freestyle overall globe as well, which is the same thing, but bigger. Luckily, the physio took that one home for me. But yeah, so you get to keep it. It's yours forever. And the box actually, it's super cool. The box comes with white polishing gloves. So you've got them to polish your crystal globe. It's a bit special.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which do you then have to have like a shelf or something designated at home to hold these? I mean, do you give them to your parents? Do you donate it to like the sport museum at the MCG? Put the crystal globe in the sock drawer? Like kind of like, I can imagine that if you do have a shelf, it needs to get extended all the damn time.
BRITTENY COX: Well, I've actually got them at the moment just sitting next to the TV. Cause I thought, you know, it's just super special. It's something that I want to put on display and be able to see all the time. So they're just sitting there next to the TV.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think there's a thing that it's kind of like the sports museum. Like I know kind of they have that Olympic section and you know, they have like little medals and that, but like Australia is winning so many damn crystal globes right now that I think kind of maybe that one of you need to donate one to this because it is such an amazing looking trophy. It is seriously one of the best trophies I think out there in sport.
BRITTENY COX: I know Laura Peel is getting quite the collection of them now and then we have my teammate, Matt Graham, winning the crystal globe last season. So yeah, I think Aussies are going from strength to strength in winter sports at the moment, particularly in freestyle skiing disciplines.
COLIN HILDING: I know during that 2017 season, I mean, you talked about your first ever World Cup win and then they just sort of continued after that. You said it was seven in total, right?
BRITTENY COX: Yes, I think I finished on top of the podium seven times and then on the podium nine times. So super consistent season for me.
COLIN HILDING: And do you bother to keep the yellow bibs from all those tops or is that something that goes into the sock drawer?
BRITTENY COX: I have kept all of them somewhere. I think they're at my parents' cupboard somewhere and I have no idea what to do with them. I'm open to any suggestions. I've seen a few of my teammates have made all their bibs into like a quilt or something like that. I've given, I've auctioned off one to a fundraiser and I've given one away to my team physio, Peter Hogg. So he's got one up on the wall at his physio practice.
COLIN HILDING: I was gonna say, you can see there's room behind me for more, if you ever bored with them, you just wanna get rid of one more, I'll take it. Now, obviously we talked to you last before the Pyeongchang Olympics. I know you competed in Olympics before that, but was there more added pressure knowing that you're going into this as a world champion, as the Crystal Globe winner? Did you feel like there was a little bit more weight on you headed into those games as opposed to the previous ones?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so Pyeongchang was my third Olympic Games. And obviously from what you were just saying there, I was going in in a completely different position to Vancouver where I didn't even expect to be there. And then in Sochi in 2014. So I went into Pyeongchang as coming off that successful season as world champion and world number one. So there was obviously a lot of expectation on me from Australia, from the rest of the World Cup field. But I think what people probably don't know is that that expectation was minor compared to the expectation I had on myself. I had huge dreams and huge goals, and I still do with my skiing. I always expect the best of myself and want to reach my absolute maximum potential. So yeah, huge experience in Pyeongchang. And that was really the position that I wanted to be in, going into those games. I wanted to be at that point at some time in my career. And it was really special that it was going into the games. And I'm really proud that I was able to put myself in that position going in there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which at the same time too, it's your third Olympics and you're only 23, which is just insane to me to think that at 23, it's your third Olympics. I mean, I'm 34 and have not been to one Brit. Like, you know, share some around. But I mean, like, do you kind of build on, given that you'd been to Vancouver and Sochi and added to the pressure that you're doing that there, that that's one less thing you have to kind of not worry about, that you've done the Olympics two times before, so you don't have to worry about the added pressure. You're just a veteran. You're literally a veteran at 23 at your third Olympics.
BRITTENY COX: Definitely. And I think even having had the experience of two Olympics going in was even more valuable because I'd been to Vancouver and then going to Sochi, it was kind of like, oh, I know what to expect. It's going to be the same. But in reality, it's totally different. Every Olympic experience is going to be different and you need to expect the unexpected. So I already had that knowledge as well. So I knew, you know, I'd experienced the games, but I knew this was going to be different. So I just needed to focus on this one thing and stay focused on what I could control. And that was the process, focusing on my skiing and my runs. And that was, yeah, that was, I guess, a bit of weight off my shoulders as well, is knowing that I was just there to do a job and I knew there was going to be all this hype that comes with the Olympics and was able to kind of put that to the side and just stay focused on the task.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just on that hype too, you mentioned before about sort of the attention from Australia. I know you talked to Colin a little bit in the last interview about, at that point, when you did the interview, the attention sort of hadn't really come from Australia at that point. But we've talked a lot about on this show that generally a lot of people in Australia, five minutes before the winter, oh, right, that's right, winter Olympics, we'll start to focus on those athletes. But when all of a sudden you do have Channel 7 knocking on the door a little bit more than they are during a World Cup and a World Championships, and all of a sudden you're about to compete, and people are starting to realise the achievements and everything you made. Do you thrive on that? Do you go, oh, great, like finally people are starting to realise, A, what I'm achieving, and B, that Australia has great winter athletes and kind of build upon that added attention that a winter Olympics does bring for Australian winter athletes.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, I think, yeah, you were exactly spot on with what you're saying there is that kind of the winter Olympics only kind of comes into the public eye in Australia once every four years. And that's just in that small window leading up to the Olympic Games. Even though we're over there competing internationally on the World Cup circuit every year, it's really just the games that it's Australian mainstream media focus on. And then obviously a couple of months before the games they cottoned on that I was going in as the world champion and then had the leaders jersey, so I did have a little bit of extra media attention there. And for myself, I can take it or leave it, but I was just really excited that the sport was getting that recognition, especially female mobile skiing. And I was really proud that I was able to be a part of that and be able to help promote our sport in Australia. And we've started to see some of the after effects of that now. We've got a really strong women's team competing for Australian moguls, and we've got so many young girls wanting to compete in mogul skiing now. We've got a massive, massive crew, both from Victoria, the Victorian club, Team Buller Riders, and then the New South Wales Club, which is the Australian Mogul Skiing Academy. There's so many young girls that are wanting to ski moguls, and I can see them now looking up to Dukara as well, and it's super exciting. And so I'm really proud that we were able to get that recognition for the sport.
COLIN HILDING: That was actually the next thing I was going to ask, because just from talking to Ben and our other co-hosts, I get that the Australian sports, there's not high expectations going to winter games a lot of the time. And going into Pyeongchang, you said you started to get a little bit of attention, but I got to imagine between Pyeongchang and now Beijing, with you and with Matt and with Dukara, I mean, you guys are killing it time and time again. So you have quite the team out there now. And mention that you have new people coming in. I mean, you're 23 years old, but I got to imagine with three games under your belt, are there people coming in that are there skiing now? Or you're like, you know what, I got into this because I saw you ski?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, it's really exciting. I've got a few teammates now who, I remember four to six years ago being there and signing their helmets and things like that. Now they're on my team and I'm kind of the type of person I'd say I love to learn from everyone around me, whether that be my idols like Alicia Campland, Lydia Laszlo, all the way back to my teammates and the people around me, my friends. And so now I'm learning from those teammates and those athletes who I inspired when I was younger and now they're on my team and I can learn from them. And it's just such a positive culture and environment within our team at the moment. So I think that's part of why we are becoming such a strong and successful team. And as you were saying, we've got Matt Graham now as the Crystal Globe winner going into the games and my teammate, Jhikara Anthony, who finished second on the tour last year. So we've got a super, super strong team and it's gonna be really exciting to see what we can do as a team, as a collective at these games. And I was actually speaking to one of my idols, Alyssa Campland, she's been a little bit of a mentor for me over the last years, the other day. And she's like, she's like, oh, I can't believe it. We've got, you know, you, Jhikara, Matt, Brody, such a strong team going into the games. And then these young guns, these up and comers, she's super excited to see what we can do as well. So I think one of the things that happens in freestyle skiing in Australia is what we can see happening is that success breeds success. And we see that in the aerial skiing program as well. And now we're starting to see it happen in moguls. So yeah, it's a really, really exciting time. And I look forward to seeing what we can do this season.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is always fascinating. As somebody who has always said the Winter Olympics are the real Olympics, Brit, I've always been someone who has just been in love with them. And, you know, I remember growing up, I mean, I remember when we won that bronze in the Lahama, that breakthrough bronze that the short track team won, and Zali's bronze in Nagano, and then obviously the flow that has come from there. But it's just insane to look at what Australia has achieved at that. And freestyle skiing is the forefront of that, of our 15 Winter Olympic medals, eight of them are in freestyle skiing. And three of those are, of course, in moguls. We know where two of them have come from, and I'm gonna mention a certain legend a little bit later in this interview. But it's crazy to think that, you know, 20, 30 years ago, if you were to say where we would be now, and just that sport, and what you're saying there, you got these young people sort of coming up and looking up to yourself and other people as well. And you've also got the Jeff Henke Centre now in Brisbane, and just kind of all these things that are just completely changing the sport. Where do you think, if we were having this conversation in 20 years' time, like, how far do you think we could go? Are we gonna be all of a sudden talking about that? We're sweeping the podiums now in Olympic games, at, you know, Mount Hotham's hosting the 2038 Winter Olympics, you know, things like that.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, I mean, you said it, it's, I mean the, the potential there is huge right now. And I think, like what I was saying, success breeds success, but we've had, you know, when I'm overseas and I'm training, I often get people on the chairlift scheme, like, wait, you're a mogul skier and you're from Australia, aren't that, you know, people just associate sport in Australia with swimmers and surfers and AFL players, but the reality is we have super, super strong skiing or winter sports team, particularly in freestyle skiing. And we have that rich history there with obviously the likes of Lydia and Alisa, Jackie Cooper, and then Dale Begg-Smith in mogul skiing. So we've, you know, we've got these people that have set the bar high and then we're trying to chase them. And obviously their success has brought in the funding for us to have these opportunities. Like you were talking about the Jeff Hankie Olympic Training Centre, which I was lucky enough to use last year. And that's been an absolute saving grace during the pandemic because it's meant that we've been able to train at home in Australia when our competitors are overseas on snow. So yeah, it's these facilities that have come up that have allowed us to train and now we're reaping the benefits of those and having results. So hopefully that has a flow on effect. And like we were saying before, we can inspire the next generation to follow suit.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you think there's a reason why Moguls has taken such a part in Australia's success? I mean, growing up, it was all about the aerials, of course, even before the Olympics success came, we had, you know, Kirsty Marshall, Jackie Cooper, kind of doing great things on the world stage. And then obviously, as you're saying, Alyssa comes along, you know, Lydia comes along. We've had David Morris as well, you know, medal at the Olympics. But Moguls was kind of one that, I used to always watch the Olympics and go, this is bloody crazy. Why the hell are you skiing on bumps? Like your knees must be dead. But then obviously with the success that you've had on the world stage, you know, Jakara, then obviously with Matt and Dale and all that kind of stuff. But this is kind of almost like a go-to sport for Australian now. I can understand aerials in some weird way, because it's like, they just steal all the gymnasts. So, you know, why not? But how does this success come from Moguls? Where did this begin Australia's love of moguls?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, I think it's quite a unique sport, but I think to answer your question there, it comes from a few different avenues. So we've got, part of it is the success that we've had in the Australian moguls skiing team. So obviously Dale Begg-Smith, Gold Medal and Torino was just like, bang, set the tone. I know he was a massive inspiration for my two teammates, Matt Graham and Brody Summers. And so he's inspired that generation of skiers who's brought in the funding for us to have the facilities. But then there's also this other element that we've actually got a World Cup Standard Mogul course in Australia that we're able to train on. And it's actually one of the toughest courses in the world. So we're so super, super lucky that we have access to train on that course. And then we've also got a couple of athletes, sorry, a couple of key figures who have enabled us to make the most of those resources. So Peter Topolovic, who was the head coach of the New South Wales Institute of Sports and based at O'Ring, Jindalbine, he basically got that run and that World Cup Standard run up and going for us. They got it summer groomed and there's snow making on it now so we can actually train on it for longer periods of time over the winter. And then you've got obviously that, the lack of Jeff Henke from the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, who pushed and pushed to get the water ramp facility going. So there's a few people who have kind of pioneered the sport and pushed it in that direction. So we definitely have a lot to thank for with those guys as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: Gotta quickly ask just on the topic about Kingdale. Now, I know Colin brought up, you know, he's gotta be a kid. Come on, if I have one goal on this show, Brit, it is just for Australians to just realise the legendary status of this man. You know, it's just, he needs to be talked about more. But how is he? Have you talked to him recently? What's going on with Dale? Is he on his island? Like, is he gonna be making an appearance in Beijing? Like, where is Dave?
BRITTENY COX: Well, actually, I mean, I think it was just yesterday or the day before they announced Beijing are only selling tickets to Chinese residents. So my family, it was sitting at the dinner table last night, and mum's going, oh, we can't come over and watch you. I was like, mum, I really don't think that that was gonna happen, given what's going on in the world right now. But yeah, so I don't think we'll be seeing Dale in Beijing. We did see him, the last time I saw Dale was at the 2019 World Championships in Deer Valley. So he just rocked up out of nowhere. He came there just to watch and to cheer us on, which was really cool. And then we also saw him at our pre-Olympic camp before Pyeongchang. He came over with his family. He's actually got three young kids now. So he came with his family, and have a little bit of a scare around and chat with the team and catch up, which was really nice. But I think, yeah, Dale, like you're saying before, this guy needs more recognition in Australia. But to be honest, I don't think he really wants it. He's a bit of a, you know, lacks to keep a low profile. Now I think he's just spending all his time and energy into being a good dad and into his family.
BEN WATERWORTH: He's an enigma. He just really is.
BRITTENY COX: Maybe we'll see some mini Begg-Smith kids shredding logos in a couple years.
COLIN HILDING: Mini Begg-Smith.
BEN WATERWORTH: Mini Begg-Smith. Just saying, next time you speak to him, there is a random podcast that would love to, he's our dream guest, just saying. And the enigma, I mean, again, he is co-equal greatest winter Olympian of all time in his country in terms of medals won. So, yeah.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so I mean, he was super generous with his time with both Matt and I, when we were younger athletes on the team. And I can only imagine him being a good dad in that regard to his kids. So, who knows, maybe there'll be some future superstars of winter sport coming through there.
COLIN HILDING: Yeah, I'd love to hear a little about your Pyeongchang experience. You know, we had gone into those games, having interviewed you and Andy Notti, who probably were considered the two front runners. And going through the qualifications, the semis, it looked like, you know, this is going to be the battle of Brit versus Andy. And obviously, some things, you can never predict what's going to happen. We actually live commentated the finals. And we had some great moments like, no, no, no, but, has enough time passed that you can reflect on that? And then kind of, are you the type who picks it apart? Like, oh, this is what should happen.
BRITTENY COX: I've reflected on that so much, you couldn't believe it. But just quickly on that note, Andy is one of my favourite athletes. She was a statue ripping skier. She's retired from skiing now, but actually this morning, I saw she completed her first ever marathon. An incredible athlete, so shout out to Andy. Yeah, but going back to Pyeongchang, that was such a wild experience. Obviously, there was so much pressure and expectations, but actually I felt pretty good on the day. I was skiing well and obviously went into the super final in second place. So Andy in the top spot there. So we were both in good shape there going into the super final. I made a mistake on the top jump, and that's really all I can say about it is that's sport and that's what happens. And I've gone back and watched that run and analysed what I could have done differently and that kind of thing. But you can always say, what if, and if everything went perfectly for all the time, it wouldn't be fun, it wouldn't be what it is. Obviously, it was a bummer. I wanted to put down the best run that I've ever done. And it was right there within my reach and it slipped through. But now I can look back on it and go, you know what, I gave it everything, I gave it my all. And for that, that's something that I'm super proud of. And I think I know within myself that I'm more than just a mogul skier as well. So yes, I wanted that so much, but I can definitely learn from that experience and know that I feel whole and feel happy with myself to continue and see what else I can do with the sport.
COLIN HILDING: Did it make it easier or make it harder that, I mean, feel free to be honest, although I have a feeling I know which one your answer. Knowing that you had teammates there, this isn't like Vancouver or Sochi where, you know, maybe there's not as high expectations, everything, but you go in and you're like, okay, well, that didn't go my way. But then you see what Matt did and what Jakara did. I mean, did that kind of help soften the blow?
BRITTENY COX: Absolutely, it definitely helped soften the blow because Australia had such high expectations for us to do well in women's moguls. So thank God Jakara could deliver on that on the day. And like I was saying before, it helped push women's mogul skiing in Australia. And yeah, so that was really special. But also then obviously Matt, the next day getting the medal was also a massive highlight. I mean, that was just in and of itself an exciting day. So yeah, really special for our whole team. We're all really close. They're like brothers and sisters to me. So obviously I was really excited for them as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: We talked a bit during Tokyo with Jess Fox in terms of the order and the fact that we, Jarrod, our other co-host, Australian co-host, we were like, from a spectator's perspective, it sucks having to watch her go last because it's kind of like, oh, like it's so tense. And then if she makes one mistake, you're like, shit, oh, like it makes you, that way. When you're competing and you're going second last in that final, so you basically know that if you get top two, you've won a medal. Of course, you no doubt want to win the gold. But do you prefer in those situations to be able to go last so you know what you have to beat? Or is it more of a case of, I'd rather qualify six for the super final so I can just set the benchmark. I don't have to have that extra pressure of knowing I have to get this certain score to walk away with a medal.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, that's an interesting one. I think for me, probably doesn't matter so much. I really, I do like the idea of qualifying highest because I think there's one, there's the element of like, you show the judges that you deserve to be there and that you can do it, but you also show that to yourself. You're like, okay, I have the ability to do this. Usually when I'm up there, I think, to some people it might be a little bit different. I generally don't pay that much attention to what the other skiers have done before me because really what they do or what they have done isn't going to be able to change what I can do. I'm still gonna go and put down the best run that I possibly can. And also I've got so much going on in my mind. I can't put anything else in there and be like, oh, okay, so I need to score seven in fives in my turns. Like, there's no more space left up in my mind for that. So I think some guys do pay attention to that. They go, oh, maybe I need to carve the tricks a little bit like that. But for me, it's about what run I'm going to do. Yeah, I guess if you qualify sixth, you can kind of be like, well, I got nothing to lose and go for it. But I'd probably rather be in that top spot. And we call that the squeeze box. I don't mind being in the squeeze box.
BEN WATERWORTH: Squeeze box, I like that. You mentioned sort of, you've got a lot going on in your mind. I mean, is that just down to okay, this is the strategy I've got. This is what I need to do. This is what worked in the qualifying. This is what I've got to improve on that. I mean, can you kind of give us a bit of an insight into Brit Cox's mind at the top of a hill at an Olympic Games?
BRITTENY COX: I had another conversation with Alisa about this the other night. She was telling me in Salt Lake City, right there before her last jump, she was about to hop turn and go. And she said she could feel her heart beat like boom, boom, boom, boom. And she said there was a split second there where her mind could have been taken in the wrong direction, being like, oh my God, this is what I'm about to do, and just thinking about the magnitude of it. But instead she knew that if she started to let her mind go that way, it would take her away from focusing on what she needed to do. And that was accused of her jump and so on and so forth. So she stayed focused on what she was doing. And I said to her, when she told me this the other day, I said, I can completely relate to that because that's what I like to do when I'm up there in the start gate as well, is I'm thinking about my run. I'm thinking about my breathing and being present in the moment and focused on what I need to do. Because in mogul skiing, there is so much that you need to think about. There's so much variety in the sport. You've got two different jumps. You've got the turns, entry into the jumps, the body position, the landing, the speed, all of that going on. So there's not really any space to think about anything else. So for me, it's really about saying, eyes on my own plate, focused on what I've got to execute in my run. And one of the techniques I use to bring myself into the present moment, so I can focus on that is different breathing techniques and just different grounding and centring techniques. So up there, a couple of people before I go, I'll usually do like a six seconds breathing in, six seconds breathing out for a couple of rhythms, a couple of times, and then visualise my run, stomp my feet, and then I'm ready to go.
COLIN HILDING: Is there even a point where the crowd, is something you even notice? Because until I started attending moguls events live, I didn't realise like how high up you are. Like you're off the first jump, and I'm like, oh, okay, they started already. Like, you don't realise this is very high. I mean, I gotta imagine, you gotta be probably pretty close to the bottom before you even realise there's a crowd there. Or are you completely plugged in and you don't even realise that there's anybody there, you're not listening?
BRITTENY COX: Probably depends on the venue. If you're somewhere like Deer Valley, where there's sometimes 5,000 people down the bottom, you can hear them no matter what. And I like to use that energy to fuel the fire and to get me ready to go. But I don't try and let myself get too caught up in that because I know that I've got a job to do and to focus in on that. You can definitely hear it, but it's kind of more of like a distant sound and something that's out there. But then once you get to the bottom, it's just like, boom, you can take it all in.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is it a case that you just get so sick of hearing cowbells after a certain point that you just block them out because they just get so annoying? Or do you relish the cowbells?
BRITTENY COX: Well, I think that's more of an alpine skiing thing. I've seen some of those World Cups like hip school and that in Austria. And I can imagine there would just be absolutely deafening because every single kid or person on the side of the run has a cowbell. Mobile skiing, I think, is more about the music and the screaming and that kind of vibe. But I remember one of my favourite crowds was actually at the World Cup in Japan, where they bring up all the school kids from the villages around Tazawako to come up and watch the World Cup. So the side of the entire course is just lined with these little Japanese school kids yelling and screaming. And yeah, I love it. It gives me good energy. And it's nice to know that these kids are getting excited for what you're doing.
BEN WATERWORTH: I love that. I mean, imagine if there was everyone in South Africa, you'd have the Vuvuzelas, I remember that during the World Cup. But I swear, like the cowbell thing just, they always just seems to be won at any winter sport. Like I swear there's been some at ice hockey, that people have just gone and watched the downhill that day and they've just gone to the ice hockey at night.
BRITTENY COX: And then they did come to the ice rink.
COLIN HILDING: I see the figure skating.
BEN WATERWORTH: Half way through, half way through, we're thinking the Clowney Crane's gonna hear, ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling, like, shut up, I'm trying to perform.
BRITTENY COX: I can imagine it happening somewhere, and we're at a curling event where they're really kind of podcasting.
BEN WATERWORTH: There you go, Colin. And this is where you get Christopher Walken on board. More, more cowbell. Like, this just needs to be a thing, right? Where is Christopher Walken advertising all these winter sports, Colin?
COLIN HILDING: We'll bring it in to all the sports. So, we'll start attending.
BRITTENY COX: You can't really be at the top of a mobile course and just, you know, turn your head and say, I need absolute silence for this.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Shut up.
BRITTENY COX: Not going until it's dead silence.
COLIN HILDING: You know, it was, the last event I attended was the Calgary World Cup February 1st, 2020. And I remember flying out there and seeing one or two people with masks and thinking, oh, this COVID thing they're talking about. I mean, I'm glad this isn't two or three months from now, because imagine how that could affect everything. February 1st, 2000, and three weeks later, the season's called, they're like, that's it, we're done. And then of course, you follow that up with the 2020, 2021 season, which is abbreviated as well. Did you find it was harder to get into the groove? Are you the type of skier where the competitions really help build your skill? Or is it more in training for you? And then the amount of competitions is irrelevant?
BRITTENY COX: I think for me, the way I was really impacted the most is that I love competing. So it was just a bit disappointing to not be able to compete as much as we normally would. But then I tried to look at the positives in that we had a massive chunk of training in the middle of the North American season over 2020, 2021, where we were actually based in Finland for about eight weeks, where we just trained through that whole period that we would not normally get throughout the international season. So that was really good. And I was able to take advantage of that, especially knowing that this season, it's going to be very busy competing pretty much every week leading up to the game. So it was great to get a good chunk of training in there. But it's interesting that you point that out about Calgary 2020, because I actually wasn't there. I was injured at the time, but I flew out to Deer Valley to help support the team and do a little bit of media coverage for that event. And that was the first time I'd kind of been flying since the pandemic had begun. And few people were starting to wear masks, if you weren't. But then fast forward 12 months to the season just gone, and we were masked pretty much for four months. We had masks on. So yeah, it was a completely different experience competing in a pandemic. But as athletes, I think we're pretty good at being able to adapt to change. And I definitely tried to use a lot of the tools in my athlete kit to handle some of the changes that were thrown our way.
COLIN HILDING: That's what I was gonna ask, because we've talked to a lot of athletes where training is shut down. I mean, you can't go to a track if you're a runner or whatever, a speed oval if you're a skater. I mean, were there any areas where your regular training routine that you'd go through on this week of this month suddenly just wasn't there and you had to, what were some of the ways you had to adapt to training?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so since going back all the way to Vancouver 2010, our year was pretty much set out, calendar year was pretty much set out. A year in advance, we knew what training camps we were doing every year, it was pretty much the same. We'd be in Canada in May, then we'd be back in Australia for our winter. We'd go to Switzerland in October. It was kind of the same every year and then all of a sudden the pandemic hits and the plan's completely out the window and we had to adapt and change to that. When the pandemic first hit, I was actually recovering from an injury. I had a broken collarbone and six broken ribs. So I had surgery and was rehabbing. So my plan was gonna be different anyway. I was back at home in the gym rehabbing and then Australia went into lockdown. So I was just rehabbing from home, working out in the gym. And as soon as my collarbone was good to go again, that's really when Australia went to a very strict lockdown and we couldn't really do too much. I was ready to water out, but we weren't able to get out that we were in lockdown at home. So I had to change my way of thinking about, be like, okay, I need to use this time differently now. I'm going to get really strong and fit. And when this thing blows over, which it'll probably be two weeks, we'll be fine and we'd be ready to go. Two weeks turned into a lot longer. But then we ended up being able to ski in Australia, which was fantastic back in Perishaw on that World Cup standard bogey course. Then we were able to train on the Jeff Hankey Olympic Training Centre, the water ramp up in Queensland for the first time ever, which was really, it came just at the right time. So we were able to train on home soil. Because by this point in time, Australia had banned international travel. So yeah, that was really lucky. We couldn't go to Zermatt, but we were able to water ramp, which was fantastic. And then we headed away for the season to Rukka and got exemption to go over and compete internationally. So with very different preparation leading in, but we just tried to make the most of the cards that we've been dealt.
BEN WATERWORTH: You mentioned the injury. Tell us a little bit about that crash in China and how's the recovery gone? I mean, did you find that it affected anything? Kind of, it changed much when you hit that ramp for the first time after you have such a big crash like that? I mean, kind of obviously pretty tricky period to kind of knocking yourself out, breaking a few ribs and a cold bone to kind of go back up there on the course.
BRITTENY COX: It was definitely the most serious injury I've ever had. So back in 2019, December in China, within the dual mogul competition at the World Cup, I crashed just after the top jump, head first, hit the mogul and knocked myself out. So then I slid about 70 metres head first down the mogul, I was hitting every mogul as I went. So I think on that first impact when I knocked myself out was when I broke the collarbone and then hitting all the moguls as I slid down was when I broke the ribs. But luckily I was unconscious for that the entire time. So I don't remember any of it. I've watched the video once and I don't ever wanna watch it again. So then I was taken to a Chinese hospital, had x-rays that showed the extent of my injuries and had to stay in China for a few extra days before I was cleared to come home and have surgery. But yeah, I think it was really lucky that I don't remember it because it doesn't affect me. I was just itching to get back skiing again and to doing what I love. And I try not to think about it too much. It's part of our sport. It's a dangerous sport. And that's what makes it exciting is the fact that there is that sort of extreme element. But luckily I'm healthy now and I regained full range of motion with my shoulder. Thanks to a fantastic surgeon and the OWI with their incredible rehab services and physios and I'm lucky to have a really good team around me that they helped me get back in shape.
COLIN HILDING: I'm actually curious about that one time you watched the video too, because it almost sounds funny to say like, oh, I'm glad I was unconscious for the whole thing. But I mean, when you see some of these crashes, I mean, they look brutal. I mean, it would make me afraid to do it and I'm not the one who crashed. My wife injured her, she broke her tailbone tobogganing years ago. To this day, she refuses to go near a hill on a toboggan. But what compelled you to watch the video the first time? Like somebody said, you really gotta see this. Like it's spectacular.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so the only reason I watched it was our head of medical at the moment, at the time, was over there in China with us. And he had to assess me, do the concussion test with me. And he just wanted me to watch it to see if it jogs my memory at all. And I watched it, I'm like, I what? I did that at what? And then I just keep my seeing myself fighting. I'm like, oh, that's why that leg hurts. Oh, no wonder my hips sore. Oh yeah, that was that rib like. But then I watched it, I was like, I don't remember it and no, I'm not gonna watch that again.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is then just on the physical side of things, though, when you are competing. I mean, you mentioned that that's why that's sore, that's why that's sore. Do you find now that when you're competing that it still affects your performance or is kind of the body right up to shape where it was before the injury?
BRITTENY COX: No, I'm really lucky that I had a full recovery. When I had surgery on my collarbone, the surgeon said he couldn't guarantee that I'd get full range of motion back. But he did say, oh, I'll give you the smallest plate. I actually had a hook plate that went across and down under the acromion. And he said, I'll give you the smallest possible one so that we can get as much range of motion as we can. And then after three months, we'll take it out. He said, but there's no guarantee that it'll be back as it was. And then after my surgery, he told me that during the surgery, he actually bent the metal a little bit to give me a little extra room. So maybe that's why I was able to get the full range back. Yeah, so now I've got an Ali star and a good story, but other than that, I gained full range of motion back and I'm healthy, so very lucky. And I definitely want to make the most of the healthy body now while I can.
COLIN HILDING: You know, you had a season cut short with injury, you had a shortened season with COVID. We're getting close to the start of the season now. Where are you at right now as we're getting ready? Is your mind focused on, I've got a season to start, or is it focused on Beijing? Are you in the middle of training? I know I saw the Deferlipoint sisters posting there in the middle of training camps right now. So I'm assuming training camps are going around for you as well?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so we just had a really long and successful training camp back here in Australia on Topper's Dream over in Perisha. So I spent a good part of the winter there training on snow. And we knew that we weren't going to be able to head over to Europe in what's our spring, but fall over there to train like a lot of the other teams were. So we really tried to maximise what we could on snow in Australia. And we were really lucky that we skied all the way through till middle to end of September and skied in the spring flush, which was always a lot of fun. But yeah, we had a good season, good season of snow. So that enabled us to do it there and fantastic snowmaking. So yeah, got a lot of skiing in and now just spending a little bit of time at home, doing a little bit more S&C work and gym work, also spending a bit of time with family before we head off to Europe again to start the season. We're heading away a little bit earlier this year because we are missing out on the Zermatt camp that we'd normally do in October. Yeah, but everything's in full swing and I'm really excited to get going and get back in the start gate with the big ones.
BEN WATERWORTH: By the time this airs, it will be a little bit closer to Beijing. So I guess for people at home who are listening to this and kind of want to follow the progress, like what is the process to qualify for Beijing is it all rankings, points? Does Australia have a designated couple of slots and you've got to remain in the top couple? Like kind of what's that process for you to get to a fourth Olympic Games?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so the Olympic qualifying process actually started at the start of last international season. But that would have been Wokoff back in December, 2020. So that's still going on now when the World Cup starts this season. And basically Australia has, well, all of the countries can qualify for men and for women for mogulskiing. And to qualify, every country has their own individual requirements. But the one that's sort of based across the board for all countries is you need a top 30 result and then you need to be in the top four of the Olympic adjusted field in the world ranking field. So that really depends on what, how many people the other nations will send. So whether they send four women or maybe like three women, but then other people can get bumped in. So I've ticked a few of those boxes and now it's about staying healthy and staying within those top four Australian women. And then we've got another couple of World Cups to do to tackle the stay in that top four and obviously just trying to stay healthy and better my performance that I can put myself in the best position to compete really well in Beijing.
BEN WATERWORTH: And just on that, it'd be your fourth Olympics, as I just said. I mean, that's putting you in some pretty unique Australian Winter Olympic company. Obviously Lydia went to five, Stephen Bradbury went to four. I'm trying to, off the top of my head, who else went to four? But I mean, it's not a sort of very big club, the sort of the four and five time. I mean, you're still young. I mean, you could be pushing for six, I feel. You've got another couple in you there, Brit.
BRITTENY COX: I was very lucky to squeak Vancouver in there. That was a pretty special one. Canada definitely put on a good show there. So I'm really grateful that I got to go to those games. Yeah, it really depends on how well the body holds up. At the moment, I'm just taking it, let's say one games at a time. And then we'll make an assessment about what happens after that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, just quickly on that, just saying to go towards six, that would be 2030 and then Vancouver in the running to host those games again. So it would be a nice little bookend of the, you know, Vancouver 2010, Vancouver 2030.
COLIN HILDING: Look at that.
BRITTENY COX: Now you're starting to plant some seeds.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, hey.
BRITTENY COX: That would be pretty cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: Patterns, patterns work.
COLIN HILDING: Yeah.
BRITTENY COX: And then you've got, and then you've got Brisbane 2032.
BEN WATERWORTH: Switch summer.
BRITTENY COX: Summer Olympics.
COLIN HILDING: Yeah.
BRITTENY COX: And maybe you need to start thinking about what summer's all that can change.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, technically, technically Brisbane is a winter Olympics. It's been held in the winter in Australia. So push the organising committee to add moguls. Have it at the Jeff Henke Centre. Like just have summer moguls. Like there you go.
COLIN HILDING: If we make ski jumping in Olympic events, you're in. Yeah, there you go.
BEN WATERWORTH: Australia's never had a ski jumper, so that would work.
COLIN HILDING: I have a question just as a fan of the sport. You know, I would assume everybody's friendly. I mean, you know, you're all competing against each other, but you know, you said do Andy Noddy, you love her and everything. But when there are skiers like Mikel Kingsbury and Peryn Lefont, who don't seem to ever give up that yellow belt. Is there a small part of you or Matt who's like, you know what, as long as it's not them, like somebody take them down for at least one week.
BRITTENY COX: I mean, I can't speak for Matt, but for myself, but you know, she's an incredible skier and she's had some amazing results. And she's definitely definitely got a massive target on her back going into these games. But for me, I think my sporting pursuits have always been really personal about being the best skier that I can possibly be. And I definitely want to be be on top and be the winner. But I don't I guess I don't really look to other people and go, I want to beat them. It's more about, OK, I want to be the best that there is in general. So, yes, that's that's really about my take on it.
COLIN HILDING: And just out of curiosity, how are you feeling going into Beijing compared to how you felt going into Sochi or Pyeongchang?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, in a different position again, I don't have that kind of pressure and weight on my shoulders that I had for the last games, I guess. And talking to Alisa the other night, she sort of asked me the same question. And I said, well, you know, it's kind of like I feel like I have nothing to lose. So I just want to make the most of having a healthy body and a massive passion for the sport and determination to ski the best I possibly can. And I'm really motivated by doing new tricks and, you know, and ticking those boxes and those goals. And yeah, I just want to go out there and make the absolute most of it because these experiences are unique. And who knows how much longer my body can do this for. So I'm really excited. It's going to be very different this time around with all the COVID protocols and not having my family there. But yeah, I want to make the most of the opportunities that I'm being given.
BEN WATERWORTH: I've got a couple of ones here that are a bit interesting here. Now, bear with me here, Britten. Colin doesn't even know I'm going to ask. He's the first part of this question is for Colin's benefit. All right. Now, behind him, you will see his little mogul shrine. He loves the DeFeller Point sisters, like a little bit too much for a married man. Now, can you give him any advice into if he was going to like message him to come on the show? Like, is there some sort of like secret that he should know that like they're really into? Like, I don't know, soccer that if he just gets on to the page about soccer that all of a sudden, hey, like, I like this guy, I'll come on Off The Podium. Can you give Colin any advice to try and get in with the DeFeller Point sisters?
BRITTENY COX: Oh, gosh, I don't know. I don't know them all that well. I'm trying to think. I don't know. I think when it comes to, I don't know, for me, I'm just all about promoting the sport. And I know that Colin loves mobile skiing. So when you guys asked me to jump on the podcast, I'm like, yep, I'm in. But for the DeFeller Points, I don't know. I don't know what their motivation is. So you have to do a little bit more research there.
COLIN HILDING: I tried. When I got the pictures, that would have been the perfect opportunity to want to come on the show.
BRITTENY COX: Maybe you can ask Andy. She's a former teammate of them.
COLIN HILDING: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. Come on, come on, Colin. Colin mentioned we did commentary during Pyeongchang. That was our very first commentary we ever did, wasn't it, Colin? Oh, no, we did rowing during... We did Kim Brennan's race back in Rio. But we've expanded. We've expanded our commentary repertoire. We actually do a bit more prep. We did about 10 or 11 days worth of commentary during Tokyo. So we're prepping for Beijing. Now, Jarrod, our co-host, he had our very famous moguling call of commentating by simply going mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, jump, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, jump. Can you maybe give us some more advice in terms of what we should be saying rather than just simply going mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, jump, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, jump?
BRITTENY COX: Well, OK, so maybe one of the things that you could outline to the listeners is, and the viewers, is what you're actually looking for on the mogul Run. So maybe the breakdown of what moguls is. So it's based 60% on the turn technique, 20% on the jump, and then 20% on the speed. So maybe you can talk about what's actually going in, going on during the process of them skiing down mogul, mogul, mogul. So are they keeping their feet together? What's the angulation that's going on there? The absorption, are there any leg splits? And then you can talk about the jumps. What tricks they're doing. How they're landing them, are their feet together when they land? Is there much collapse in the chest? Is the upper body stable and steady as they're skiing down the moguls? And then of course, a little bit of background on the athletes. So that'll require a little bit of research and preparation.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's too hard. See, Brit, sorry. You just made it like, I'm sticking with the mogul, mogul, mogul. That's just too much for us. We're too lazy podcast hosts. We don't have time for that.
BRITTENY COX: Well then what do you say when someone crashes?
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I think we commented a lot on. Oh, that's your favourite mogul. That's the one she's jumping on.
COLIN HILDING: They're going for the favourite mogul.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's a favourite one. They're there.
COLIN HILDING: The only thing we didn't do is the timing, like you said, with the one second, two, three, four, five. Or if we start counting along with it, that'll maybe bump us up a little bit.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're the expert commentator. You've got two Aussies who watch the sport every four years, right? Let's say I was asking you to commentate on AFL, you're not going to do it. And on that, on that notion, now you brought up to Colin during the last interview, which I've been dying to know why somebody from the state of Victoria is a Brisbane Lions supporter. Now, is this a Fitzroy history sort of thing, or is that where it comes from?
BRITTENY COX: So my grandfather, who is now 92 years old, he was treasurer of the Fitzroy football club. So he's basically said that, you know, when Fitzroy and then Brisbane joined together to make the Brisbane Lions, the Fitzroy Bears, sorry, the Brisbane Bears, the Fitzroy Lions, joined together to make the Brisbane Lions, my grandfather obviously kept following them. And ever since I've been born, my grandfather has said that we have to support the Brisbane Lions. That's the threat. No, if we don't support the Brisbane Lions, we're not included in will.
BEN WATERWORTH: More of a threat. I just got threatened to get kicked out of home if I didn't go for Carlton. It's like you're three years old, you don't go for Carlton, you're on the street. Like, okay, well, I'll go for Carlton.
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, but no, I love the Lions, love watching Charlie Cameron play this season compared to the Charlie Cameron fans. So yeah, it was good fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, the one quick thing I want to add is we're trying to get all our Winter Olympian guests when you do the whole press with Channel 7, do the interviews, this is what you've been up to, to throw in a sneaky word, right? Just like as a nod to us. So I'm giving you the really difficult challenge to throw in the word, acumanus. Can you add the word? Acumanus, like, oh yeah, when I'm at the top of the hill, I think of the great Jason Acumanus. I don't know, like maybe, but I-
BRITTENY COX: A couple years ago on tour, the boys on our team all thought it'd be a great idea to dye their hair like bleached blonde, grow out their moustache, and then dye the moustache black. So they all just look like Acumanus. I thought you were going to give me some, like, difficult word, like, you know, you have to randomly throw in the word donkey or something like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, hey, go for it. There you go. We'll take it, donkey or Acumanus.
COLIN HILDING: I would say our listeners would almost demand, if you're being interviewed, just, you know, oh, so what happened up there? You know, it was just one after the other, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul, mogul.
BRITTENY COX: Man, pretty much, it's left, right, left, right.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, there you go, you donkey or acumanus then. Channel seven, you've got Mel McLaughlin staring you in the face. You got to think of this moment right now, Brit, and go, okay, donkey, acumanus. Done.
COLIN HILDING: Before we even let you go, where can people follow you? Can they follow you online? Anything exciting you want to plug right now?
BRITTENY COX: Yeah, so I try and keep people up to date on my skiing journey, mostly on Instagram. So that's Brit underscore mogul underscore Cox. Pretty self-explanatory. That's where I probably do the most of my updates, but I'm also on Facebook, Britteny Cox fans on Facebook. But yeah, generally on Instagram, I try and keep people updated on my skiing adventures, cycling, yoga, all of that kind of thing. And hopefully take people along the journey at the Beijing Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: And dog photos too. Tell us about your dog quickly. I love the dog photos.
BRITTENY COX: Yes, so Colin, you're gonna love this. I actually have a Canadian dog. He is a Nova Scotia duck following retriever. Loves the snow, loves swimming. And I'm at home in Mount Judy with my dog at the moment. So spending a bit of time with him before I head away for the season.
COLIN HILDING: I've always seen a couple of times off camera, like, is she petting the dog right now? I bet you are though, right?
BRITTENY COX: I'm trying to make sure he doesn't bark, actually, so I can get him to bark sometimes.
COLIN HILDING: It was great to have you back on here. And we have a plan in place now. So four, eight years, we will definitely catch up again.
BRITTENY COX: Oh, sounds good. My names will probably have copped a bit of a beating, a few more moguls by then, but I'll look forward to chatting with you guys.
COLIN HILDING: And thank you once again, Britteny, for joining us. This is so interesting that we get to do these revisiting interviews, because you think you talk to somebody, most of the time we have somebody on for an interview, we are more interested in finding out how they got into the sport, the early days, but be able to pick up from somebody who was basically having their best season ever, and then now we get to talk about how that season ended, which was way better than anybody could have hoped for. It's really interesting to do these, so we gotta plan more of these revisiting interviews. Let's just hope that they don't listen to our commentary the first time around and realise we're the reason that they failed.
BEN WATERWORTH: When I asked that commentary question, I was very tempted to bring up the fact that this may be brought, because the thing that I don't know if we've ever really revisited too much with you, Colin, is that, yeah, I'm the curse, yeah, I get it. No Australian athlete has ever meddled since being interviewed by me. Ah ha ha, hilarious. But you famously said on, it was either our preview or our looking ahead to Pyeongchang episode, that you essentially said, you are guaranteed a medal with Britteny Cox. There's no way you will not get a medal with Britteny Cox. And here we are. So like, I just want to say like, ah ha ha, you said this about high jumpers. Ah ha ha, you said about this, I'm gonna play the clip. Like, if I could be bothered going back to listen and find that clip, I would right now, but I've been doing so much editing recently that I'm not. But you said it, you said that she was guaranteed to win a medal and she didn't, so it's on YouTube, Colin.
COLIN HILDING: You know, it's funny because I also didn't realise until I started asking that question where I'm like, you know, it was basically we interviewed you and we interviewed Andy, the reason we interviewed her and Andy Noddy is because we thought these are the locks, they're the ones who are gonna medal. So we apologise. But let's just say, Brit, if you're still listening to this part of the interview, and of course you are, right? But we've had much more success since then. We have interviewed most of the people. Yeah, I have. I mean, Ben is still a problem as far as we know, but many people I've interviewed went on to medal in the last Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: But no gold, seriously though. The curse is still kind of in and out. What is the purse? Because silvers and bronze are great, but no gold. And again, as somebody who's in the Australians, we've not had an Australian medal since coming on this show.
COLIN HILDING: If she doesn't win gold this time around, we know she's not coming back in another four years. So thanks, Ben.
BEN WATERWORTH: Again, this is why we need more Americans on this damn show and Germans and British people. Chinese.
COLIN HILDING: Hey, you know what?
BEN WATERWORTH: Rock people, steam nation rock.
COLIN HILDING: I mentioned in the interview, nobody beats Mikel Kingsbury, it seems. Nobody beats Perrin Lafont. Come on the show, Mikel, come on. All the mogul skiers out there, encourage Mikel and Perrin.
BEN WATERWORTH: You know what they want on this show, you want them to keep winning? Come on, to fix your purpose.
COLIN HILDING: I don't mind spreading it around, so put the word out there if you want to knock Perrin or Mikel off the podium.
BEN WATERWORTH: You know what we need? We need all those damn Kiwis. They've got all those bronzes in Pyeongchang. Look at us, Bru, we're winning bronze medals. No, stop it, New Zealand.
COLIN HILDING: Let's get the entire Netherlands speed skating team on here.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hold on once.
COLIN HILDING: Every medal is up for grab.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, crossing live to Amsterdam, we have all members of the, and like, oh, hello, I'm the Dutch. Good for you. I was gonna try and do a Dutch accent, but I don't want to offend. I'm not up to offending the Dutch. I'm still on the ropes.
COLIN HILDING: You don't know what a Dutch accent sounds like.
BEN WATERWORTH: I do. Like, I could give you my, I had a Dutch friend once and I used to, cause to me, Dutch sound like they're speaking Elvish or something like that. Like, it's a great accent. Like, I really like, love the Dutch accent. And I used to make fun of her, cause I'd be like, Oh, feed food, I'm from the Netherlands. And she'd be like, No, Ben, that's not how we sound. And she would just-
COLIN HILDING: You sound like the Swedish chef from the Muppets when you do that.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's cause they've got like that real like, no, I'm not doing it. No, no, no. Sorry. That's episode like, you know, 412. Ben tries to do an accent from every country and officially gets cancelled. So hello to all our Dutch listeners and the Dutch skating team.
COLIN HILDING: We'll get you on. So yeah, we're getting very close to Beijing now. So keep getting excited because we're going to be bringing you daily coverage and lots of commentary. And now we have more to go on for our moguls commentary.
BEN WATERWORTH: I hope you were listening. I hope you were listening to those tips. I'm just still going mogul, mogul, mogul, who's a bugger basically.
COLIN HILDING: But now we're just going to wait for our code words.
BEN WATERWORTH: Acomanas and donkey essentially is what we're looking for. I'm actually, can I just say, I'm going to bring this up if I remember, I probably won't, but I need to learn during our Beijing coverage more about Jamie and tobogganing. This is, this sounds like a fun story.
COLIN HILDING: It is. We will save that for when tobogganing gets introduced in Vancouver 2030. But yeah, there'll be lots of interviews still to come and Beijing coverage, I don't know where we are right now. Merry Christmas if it's Christmas time. Happy New Year if it's New Year's. Happy Valentine's Day if we were delayed. I don't know.
BEN WATERWORTH: Happy Brisbane Opening Ceremony Day. We're here, it's 2032. Who's gonna light the cauldron? Will it be Kieran Perkins and Stephen Bradbury like we predicted? Find out soon.
COLIN HILDING: Oh, it's Jarrod Lubick. That's why he wasn't here today.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, three time Olympian after he qualified for Paris, Milan, Cortina and Los Angeles. Who would ever thunk it?
COLIN HILDING: But again, thank you for joining me on this one, Ben. It's good to get a second set of questions.
BEN WATERWORTH: And thank you, Colin, for making me not do all the hard work for once in one of these interviews. You can just sit back and ask the dumb questions while you ask the smart ones. I appreciate it.
COLIN HILDING: Make sure to subscribe to us wherever you can find us, like us, follow us wherever you can find us. If it's outside of our house, we may have to call the authorities, but other than that, feel free to-
BEN WATERWORTH: It's not my house. I'm lonely. Come on in.
COLIN HILDING: Ben's door is wide open.
BEN WATERWORTH: There it is. Let's watch the Olympics together. Let's get on board.
COLIN HILDING: Thank you for joining us again. Mogul, mogul, mogul, and go left.
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