
Australia
Chasing the dream and overcoming challenges! Hailing from St. Kilda, Australia, young Tess Coady’s rise into the pro snowboard leagues was not exactly a walk in the park. And nothing was handed to her. After catching the snowboard bug as a youngster, Tess had to get out of her comfort zone early. She left home for months on end during snow season to build her skills at Thredbo. Driven by a unique work ethic, she developed a style and bag of tricks well beyond her years. Sponsorships and contest wins followed, all the way to the very top: At the age of 17, Tess entered the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as the youngest athlete on Australia's Olympic team, but unfavorable course conditions in practice sidelined her with a complicated ACL injury. The end? Not for the ferocious Victoria native! Drawing on her unique resilience and mentorship from Australian snowboard icon Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, Tess bounced back even stronger than before. In her breakout 2021 season, she clinched several FIS World Cup wins, X Games bronze and all three available women’s snowboard awards(!) at the Audi Nines competition. It’s safe to say that Tess Coady has officially arrived. Watch this space to see where her skills and determination will take her.