Aussie medallist Matt Graham's heartwarming admission after 'dad podium' moment

Aussie skier Matt Graham admits that even as he braced for his bronze medal battle in the dual moguls on Sunday, locking in for one of the most crucial runs of his career, running through his mind was the chance he had to complete a podium full of dads.

In what may have been the 31-year-old veteran's swansong run as an Olympian, Graham fended off Japan's Takuya Shimakawa in the "small final" at Milano Cortina to secure the bronze medal.

Prior to the small final, Canadian legend Mikael Kingsbury and Japanese star Ikuma Horishima — fathers themselves — had set up a clash in the "big final", guaranteeing at least two of the three medals on offer would go to dads.

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Graham, dad to Ada, his one-year-old daughter, was acutely aware of the opportunity he had to ensure the dads swept the podium.

"Everyone's spoken about the dads on tour," Graham, with a beer in hand, told Nine's Danika Mason after claiming bronze.

"When I was in the start gate I knew what was at stake. The other two dads were going for a gold and silver so they'd already locked in a medal, and it was up to me to make sure I could round out the podium, and I did, so I'm really proud of that."

What followed pulled at the heart strings: Kingsbury, Horishima, Graham and each of their partners and kids gathering for photos after the medal ceremony.

"That's really what hit me in the feels," Graham said in an interview with Nine's Leila McKinnon.

Sunday was Graham's second chance to set foot on an Olympic podium, and first since 2018, when he won silver in the single moguls in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

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His Beijing 2022 campaign was thrown into disarray when he broke his collarbone in a disastrous crash only two months out. Remarkably, he still competed at those Olympics, but after his tumultuous lead-in could only finish 29th.

He finished fifth in the single moguls last week in Livigno, then watched as Aussie Cooper Woods plucked an unthinkable gold medal.

Graham, an opening ceremony flag bearer at these Games and a role model to many on the team, particularly younger mogul skiers, hoisted Woods in the air at the bottom of the moguls course, their screams echoing throughout the winter wonderland.

A moment before stepping on the podium on Sunday, Graham glanced to his left.

"There was my mum and dad, my brother, my wife [Jess] and daughter, just waving," he said.

"I guess that's when the emotions set in, and to be up there with two fellow fathers — that's pretty unreal."

It's been dubbed the "dad podium".

Kingsbury, the gold medallist, put in perspective just how special the moment was.

"For us, it's a circle," the Canadian said.

"It's legendary.

"We're all very close. Takuya was the first [to become a dad], and Matt and I, our kids were born 10 days apart.

"It's been fun being on the World Cup tour last year and this year, not chatting about skiing but chatting about our babies.

"... It's quite unreal."

Kingsbury has spent time with Graham boating and beaching on the Central Coast of NSW.

"We share a special bond," said Graham, who hails from Gosford.

"And then Ikuma as well, all being fathers, I mean, we know what we've been through, and we know how hard it is to say goodbye to your family, and how hard it is for our partners and our wives at home to do it on their own for a lot of the time.

"So it's very special to share that moment with them, and I think there'll be some celebrations by all of us, I'm sure."