Jindabyne's first Winter Olympic gold medallist Josie Baff will be welcomed home on Easter Sunday.
Join the wider Snowy Mountains & Jindabyne Communities at 5.00pm on Sunday 5th April in Banjo Paterson Park to welcome home Josie, as we celebrate her outstanding Olympic success.
Josie will arrive with sirens blazing courtesy of the Jindabyne Fire and Rescue, before strolling the lake foreshore path of Lake Light Sculpture to the Strzelecki monument, where she will be greeted by residents and visitors.
Josie will be interviewed by Manuela Berchtold and Steve Cooper, and speak to the crowd. Afterwards, she will sign autographs.
Then, stay on and be part of Lake Light Sculpture’s 25th anniversary celebrations, as the foreshore lights up for the People’s Choice Awards, followed by a spectacular fireworks display just after 6.00pm.
Josie Baff's Gold Medal
Snowboard Cross rider Josie Baff became the second Australian gold medallist at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February 2026.
The 23-year-old, who was world number two on the FIS Snowboard Cross world rankings at the time, delivered an outstanding performance to come through the event heats and land on top of the Olympic podium, becoming Australia’s eighth Winter Olympic champion.
It is the first time since Vancouver 2010 that Australia has celebrated two gold medals at a Games, following Cooper Woods’ mogul victory earlier in the Games. It is also Australia’s first women’s Snowboard Cross Olympic medal.
“It's very amazing. I would like to say that I can't believe it… but I kind of can,” Baff said at the time.
“I feel like I deserve it. I've put in a lot of hard work, so I knew I could do it but to actually have the medal around my neck is very, very cool.
“There's been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears – probably not as much blood – and it's definitely something that I've been working towards for a very long time and my team has been helping me achieve that every step of the way,” the Jindabyne local said.
After placing 17th in the time trial, Baff had a nervous photo finish to progress through the quarterfinal. She pulled off a fantastic inside manoeuvre in the semifinal to go from third to first.
The emotions of winning a gold medal for Josie Baff. PHOTOS: Chris Hocking / AOC
In the Big Final, the 2020 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist was up against stiff competition with the 2014 Olympic champion Eva Adamczykova (Czech Republic) and 2018 Olympic gold medallist Michela Moioli (Italy) both in the final, alongside the 2024 Youth Olympic champion, Noemie Wiedmar (Switzerland).
In the final, a mid-race move to take the lead over Wiedmar proved decisive as Baff held onto the lead for the reminder of the race to cross the finishing line in first place, with Adamczykova in second and Moioli in third.
After an uncharacteristic error in the time trial which saw Baff sitting in the middle of the pack, she knocked out a number of her toughest competitors on her journey to the Big Final.
“If you want to win, you have to beat everyone eventually anyway... so you have to be locked in from the get-go,” Baff said.
"After I went through that first heat, I guess I kind of relaxed a little bit, and each heat after that gets progressively easier for me – I get into that headspace and I activate a different part of myself – the real competitor in me comes out.”
Baff said seeing Cooper Woods’ golden performance in the moguls the day before gave her extra motivation heading into her own event.
“I know him and his family super well and seeing that yesterday definitely sparked a little fire in me. I thought if he can do it, I can do it too!"
Winter Olympic story courtesy of the Australian Olympic Committee.
