Jacqueline "Jacqui" Cooper (born January 6, 1973 in Melbourne ) is a former Australian freestyle skier . She specialized in the aerials (jumping) discipline and is one of the most successful athletes ever. In 1999 she became world champion, three times she won the overall ranking of the Freestyle World Cup and five times the aerials discipline ranking. There are also two other medals in world championships and 24 victories in world cup competitions.
Cooper was a trampoline gymnast in her youth until 1989 when the director of the Australian Olympic Winter Sports Institute became aware of her and induced her to switch to freestyle jumping. Her first use in an international competition was at the 1991 World Cup in Lake Placid , where she reached 18th place. On March 1, 1992 Cooper made her debut in the Freestyle World Cup and jumped to 15th place in Inawashiro . In the following years it established itself close to the world's best and regularly achieved top 10 placements. She stood on the podium for the first time on March 2, 1997 when she came second in Hasliberg .
After three more podium places at the beginning of the 1997/98 season, Cooper won her first World Cup competition on January 31, 1998 in Breckenridge . With two more victories, she took second place in the discipline ranking. In the 1998/99 season, Cooper dominated almost at will. She won the World Cup three times and decided both the discipline and the overall standings for herself. At the 1999 World Cup in Hasliberg, she won the gold medal. Four more victories followed in the winter of 1999/2000, again becoming the overall winner of the discipline and World Cup. Cooper was also superior to the competition in the 2000/01 World Cup season and decided both ratings for the third time in a row. At the 2001 World Cup , she achieved the worst result of the season with 6th place.
In winter 2001/02 Cooper won two world cup competitions and was one of the most popular favorites before the 2002 Winter Olympics . A week before the Deer Valley Olympics , she fell while training and sustained a serious knee injury. Numerous complications resulted in a total of four operations and resulted in her not being able to exercise for 16 months. In September 2004, Cooper made her comeback in Mount Buller and immediately placed second. The first World Cup victory after the long injury break followed in December of the same year. At the 2006 Winter Olympics , Cooper achieved a new world record in qualifying with 213.56 points, but in the final she could not stand both jumps and was only eighth. Two weeks later she won another world cup competition.
Cooper was again the dominant athlete in the winter of 2006/07. She was able to win four times in the World Cup and thus won the Aerials discipline ranking for the fourth time, while she finished second in the overall ranking. At the 2007 World Championships in Madonna di Campiglio , she won the bronze medal. The series of successes continued in the winter of 2007/08. With five wins in eight starts, she was the winner of the Aerials discipline ranking for the fifth time, and in the overall ranking she was again second best. In the 2008/09 season, a 2nd place was her best World Cup result, at the 2009 World Cup in Inawashiro she again won the bronze medal. Cooper qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics , jumping to 5th place at Cypress Mountain . The Olympic competition was the last of her career, in November 2010 she announced her retirement from top-class sport.
In addition to her sporting activities, Cooper was also active in various sports organizations. She was a member of the board of directors of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and the Australian Ski and Snowboard Association, Vice-President of the Athletes 'Commission of the AOC, as well as a member of the Athletes' Commissions of the Australian Institute of Sport , the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), the FIS- Freestyle Committees and the World Anti-Doping Agency .
Australia
