By KATERINA PAUL
Falls Creek delivered a golden day for Australian cross country skiing, as Phillip Bellingham and Rosie Fordham both stormed to their first-ever Kangaroo Hoppet titles at the 42-kilometre marathon in the Victorian alps on Saturday, 23 August.
For Bellingham, a three-time Winter Olympian, the victory was more than just a win.
“So happy. That meant everything to me. Been trying to do that my entire career,” he said at the finish.
“So happy to get that, it’ll be the last one I'll every do when I'm in form, I'm done after this. It means heaps to me.”
He admitted that much of the race was about patience and trusting his strategy.
“Seve (de Campo) is actually in better form than me at the moment, so I just had to sit in,” Bellingham said.
“I guess I was just taking a ride off him most of the way.
‘I've come second in the same situation before, I know how hard it is right to the end, I'm just so happy.”
While Bellingham celebrated the culmination of years of persistence, Fordham’s victory highlighted the arrival of a new generation of Australian talent.
Fresh from her National Championship success and a silver medal at the U23 World Championships earlier this year, the 21-year-old embraced her first Hoppet title with trademark energy.
“That was really fun,” she said.
“It was good that the boys kinda strung it out I was a little bit alone, then I caught up to Liam and Christoph, we skied together a bit.
“Yeah, it was lots of fun.”
The softening snow late in the race created its own challenges, though Fordham shrugged them off with a smile.
“It got a little bit soft at the end....it was really good out there,” she said.
“I didn't even eat the second gel.
‘One of them fell off on an uphill, I was trying to eat it, hold my pole, I got the food in that was useful.”
For Fordham, the biggest thrill was the atmosphere.
“It was awesome, it's like the whole Australian ski community is here,” she said.
“It's so cool to be here with all of them.
“I haven't seen this many Australians out skiing.
“I'm sure they've all have been big fans of mine so I'm happy to be here and race with everyone around.”
Looking around at the Falls Creek crowd, Fordham admitted she wished she had made the Hoppet part of her sporting journey earlier.
“It's awesome, I should have been here when I was a kid,” she said.
“I got into skiing a bit late and it always clashed with national running.
“I wish I had been here more, so I'll definitely be back.”
Now in its 31st edition, the Kangaroo Hoppet continues to be the beating heart of Australian cross country skiing.
Nearly 1000 competitors from 24 nations took part this year in the 42km, 21km and 7km races -from World Cup athletes to recreational skiers just looking to cross the finish line.
For Bellingham, it was the end of one chapter.
For Fordham, it felt like the beginning of another.
And for the Australian cross country skiing community, the 2025 Hoppet was a celebration to remember.
RACE RESULTS:
42KM KANGAROO HOPPET (Female): 1 FORDHAM Rosie, AUS 1:40:41; 2 HOOKER Maddie, AUS 1:51:09; 3 PAUL Katerina, AUS 1:55:21.
42KM KANGAROO HOPPET (Male): 1 BELLINGHAM Phillip, AUS 1:32:55; 2 DE CAMPO Seve, AUS 1:33:04; 3 WALKER-BROOSE Bentley, AUS 1:37:31.
21KM Australian Birkebeiner (Female): 1 FRANZKE Rosie, AUS 1:01:43; 2 GRAY Hannah, AUS 1:07:31; 3 GREEN Mia, AUS 1:09:33.
21KM Australian Birkebeiner (Male): 1 BRADFORD Noah, AUS 0:54:12; 2 JOHNSON Samuel, AUS 0:55:16; 3 SPRING Jayden, AUS 0:55:35.
7KM Joey Hoppet (Female): 1 POTOCKI Ivy, AUS 0:18:37; 2 CULLEN-CROKE Carmen, AUS 0:19:34; 3 FRANZKE Bethany, AUS 0:19:47.
7KM Joey Hoppet (Male): 1 ALLAN Alberto, AUS 0:16:07; 2 CULLEN-CROKE Liam, AUS 0:16:22; 3 BRADFORD Tyler, AUS 0:16:26.