'Rider's favourite' Tess Coady eyeing Winter Olympic gold after injury battle
Updated . First published at
Australian snowboarder Tess Coady is back on the slopes after shoulder surgery, with her sights firmly set on Milano-Cortina.
Coady, 24, won Australia's first medal at Beijing 2022, securing bronze in the snowboard slopestyle final.
But since standing on the podium in China, her career has faced a series of challenges.
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Tess Coady of Australia shows her bronze medal for the snowboard event during the awards ceremony at the 2022 Winter Olympics AP
After battling shoulder issues, which included four right shoulder dislocations in four years, Coady decided to undergo surgery last year to stabilise the joint.
Now fit and firing again, Coady will not sleep on the hard work to better her bronze from Beijing.
"I'm stoked to be feeling good," she told Nine's Today from Thredbo.
"You definitely put your body on the line, but that's kind of the nature of the game."
With six months to go until Australia's strongest-ever team heads to the 2026 Winter Olympics, Coady is gearing up for selection for her third Australian Olympic team.
"I'm looking forward to the Games," she said.
"It's crazy to think that it's only six months away now. It feels like the last one just happened.
"[Beijing] was such a cool experience and such a different one from the Games before.
"I'm super excited to get to Italy and give it my best. It would be super cool [qualifying] and another different experience with no COVID-19 restrictions and stuff this time."
When she was just 17 years old, Coady was set to make her Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 but ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament on her final practice run before the slopestyle competition and was unable to compete in her events.
In Italy next year, Coady will contest the snowboard slopestyle and big air events.
In March, Coady finished 12th in the slopestyle final at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in St Moritz after a strong qualifying run. She also placed 23rd in big air.
Tess Coady in action at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships 2025. David Ramos via Getty Images
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Australia's sole gold medallist in snowboarding, Torah Bright, expressed how well-regarded Coady is within the snowboarding community.
Bright will join Nine's expert commentary team for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
"I hope she can just enjoy it all and let it run because she has one of the most enjoyable riding styles there is. Outside of contest results and everything, she's a rider's favourite," Bright said of Coady's snowboarding style.
"So I hope I can do a good job of explaining just why she is one to watch and why she is a rider's favourite, because she is incredible."
The final Australian team will be selected by the Australian Olympic Committee after the qualification period ends. This runs until January 2026, with selection based on athletes' performance in World Cup events and the 2025 World Championships.
"We could have quite a roster to cheer for next year, but some of these qualifications will come down to the final events," Bright said.
