IT'S been a few weeks since she announced her decision to retire from competition, but the rollercoaster of life is just beginning for champion Australian freestyle skier and one of the Kiewa Valley's favourite daughters, Britt Cox.
From growing up in Mount Beauty and on the slopes of Falls Creek, to being Australia's youngest winter Olympian since 1960, to reaching the pinnacle of her sport in the 2016/17 season, Britt is one of the country's most decorated and successful winter athletes, but she never forgets where she came from.
"I was reading through some messages on the Mount Beauty Facebook noticeboard Monday morning, and it was lovely," Britt said.
"Just so many people who said they'd watched me throughout my career, from when I was this little kid with piggie tails at the Mount Beauty Primary School, all the way through to watching me on the telly at the Olympics.
"It was just so nice to have that support from back home, and that's something that, for me, throughout my entire career, has always been really comforting, just knowing I have the support of North East and country Victoria behind me.
"When I was doing long trips away for training camps and competition, just knowing everyone back home was in my corner was really special."
Britt first broke onto the nation's radar in 2010 when she qualified for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, after finishing just high enough in her debut World Cup.
"Looking back on Vancouver, it was just such a pivotal moment in my career," she said.
"It was my first ever World Cup competition a couple of weeks before the Games, and I was just stoked to be there – all of a sudden I'm competing alongside some of my idols in the sport.
"I didn't know it at the time, but Australia needed a top 30 result at that World Cup to qualify for a spot in women's mogul skiing for the Olympics, and I placed 29th.
"All of a sudden I'm in Vancouver as a 15 year old on the Olympics stage, but for me it was almost an advantage, it worked in my favour because I didn't have time to think of the magnitude of it – I was just going to ski again in another competition.
"For me, that whole experience in Vancouver really fuelled my passion and desire to continue in the sport and excel, I was able to see what it took to be at the absolute top level."
And excel is what she did – Britt's career continued to climb, culminating in the 2016/17 'Super Season', as she puts it, which saw her not only win the overall Moguls World Cup title, but also the women's FIS Freestyle Skiing Crystal Globe, awarded to the freestyle skier who has accumulated the most points in any of the freestyle skiing disciplines (moguls, aerials, ski cross, slopestyle, halfpipe and big air).
"I have just so many happy memories from that entire season, from getting my first ever World Cup win at the first event of the season, and then carrying the leader's jersey, the yellow bib, all the way through to the end to win the title," Britt said.
"It was a dream season and for me, as a youngster, I wanted to be the best in the world at something, and to know that I actually had done it at one point in time, and in doing so was representing myself, my country, my community back home in Mount Beauty and Falls Creek was really satisfying."
Britt competed at the 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as well as various international events, before taking stock of what she wanted in life and calling time on her career as a competitor.
Always determined to be an inspiration where she could, Britt said the prospect of finding out what comes next was daunting, but one she would take with both hands.
"When I was a kid I had set myself this goal to win an Olympic gold medal, and that slipped through my fingers in PyeongChang – it was really difficult for me to process that because I had dreamed of it for so long, but I think that the reason I wanted to do that is because I wanted to inspire people, especially young girls in Australia to chase after their dreams," she said.
"I thought I needed a gold medal to do that, but the last week, seeing the number of parents that said 'my daughter got into the sport because of you', or 'you're an excellent role model for my kids,' and even messages from the kids themselves has been really heart–warming and makes me feel like I did what I wanted to do and I didn't need a gold medal to do that.
"That's been an interesting learning curve for me out of this retirement announcement.
"I didn't have any plans before the Beijing Olympics as to what I was going to do, I always told myself to focus on the Games and after the Games I can think about that and make the decision.
"I got home and my initial feeling was 'I'm going to continue, I'm going to do at least another year' – I think I was riding the high of being at the Olympic Games, but as time went on I allowed myself to dig a little deeper and figure out what I really want.
"I also have been studying throughout my career, and I'm coming to the pointy end of my degree in Communications, majoring in PR and Journalism, and I'm starting to get a bit of experience and do some internships in that space.
"I don't like to spread myself too thin, I like to be all in, and for the first time in my life I actually felt as passionate if not more passionate about something other than mogul skiing.
"At the moment I'm not really sure what it looks like – it's terrifying because I'm so used to having a very specific goal, a very black and white goal in skiing and a very linear path to get there, whereas what I'm learning in the media industry is it's not really a one–size–fits–all, there are many different pathways to where you want to be."
