‘Flying’ Indra is 15 and new to the world cup scene. She’s already won two medals
Australian Indra Brown has two medals from two World Cup starts since her debut in December, and now the 15-year-old Melburnian is eyeing off the 2026 Olympics.
“It feels like flying.”
That’s how 15-year-old Australian Indra Brown describes what it’s like to be a freestyle skier.
“Just being free in the air. It’s quiet up there, you just feel like you’re flying,” she says.
Australian Indra Brown competes in the half pipe at a world cup event in Colorado.Credit: Getty Images
Brown and her mother, Anne, are calling from Colorado, where the family is spending Christmas between competitions. Indra has just competed in her first two World Cup events after dominating the North American Cup a season earlier.
She won bronze in her World Cup debut in China last month. A week later, she claimed silver at Copper Mountain in Colorado.
Those results made Brown the youngest Australian to secure a World Cup podium spot, and put her in line for an Olympic debut at next month’s 2026 Milano Cortina Games.
“I definitely think I surprised myself,” Brown says. “I just wanted to go in there and land my two runs, have some fun and get experience at such a high level. So, to come away with a bronze was definitely unexpected and super exciting.
“I definitely tried to build on my run from China [at Copper Mountain], just going from the pointers that I saw from the judges in China, just working on my amplitude in the half pipe and cleaning up my run.”
An Olympic debut wasn’t even on her radar a year ago. But Brown has had an exceptional year.
“I just kind of thought, OK, she’s super passionate about what she’s doing, and she’s just really enjoying herself,” Anne says.
‘To come away with a bronze was definitely unexpected and super exciting.’
Indra Brown on her impressive World Cup results
“For her, it’s a challenge against herself, not so much against her competition ... I think it’s just been quite organic in terms of the progression and the improvement [she’s] been making.
“And then the North American season that we’ve just had, was probably when I was like, OK, she’s not bad, she’s doing OK.”
Brown is definitely doing OK. The Melbourne teenager has stunned in her short time on the World Cup circuit, and has two more competitions – in Calgary and Aspen – before Olympic selections are finalised.
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Competitors typically qualify in three freestyle skiing disciplines – big air, slopestyle and halfpipe – but Brown is only competing in the halfpipe event for her first season.
