Aussies from far and wide were watching on as Cooper Woods stunned the world to win Winter Olympics gold … but one fan in the crowd — who holds a special place in Woods’ heart — has blown the freshly minted champion away.

Woods’ heroic achievements began long before he stepped onto the Olympic stage when he was just 12 years old.

In the popular water hole at Eden’s Nethercote Falls (where daredevils jump from extraordinary heights), young Woods saw his friend Amalia Plevey slip and fall from the cliff face, around 10 metres high, knocking her head on the way down.

She was unconscious in the water, and Woods jumped in, pulled her out, resuscitated her using the skills he had learned as a “nipper”, and waited until emergency services arrived.

The extraordinary act of bravery earned him the 2013 National Child of Courage Award.

Now, Woods’ uncle (and former moguls coach) Peter “Toppa” Topalovic has revealed Plevey shocked Woods and the family by turning up to these Games in Italy to watch her lifelong hero win gold.

“He is just … a great human in terms of… Everybody comes towards him,” Topalovic told Sunrise.

“People are attracted to him. He’s got such a great personality. He’s very upfront and just loved by everybody. The whole winter sports community just absolutely adore Cooper.

“What he did with young Amalia … who, by the way, was here today watching Cooper … which was so awesome (that) she was here to see the gold medal … it just goes to show the true heart of the guy, the values of his family, and I’m super proud of the young man right now more than ever.”

The fact Amalia turned up out of the blue shocked Sunrise host Matt Shirvington.

“Top, just say that again. The girl that he rescued at that time was there watching on, is that right?” Shirvington asked.

“Amalia is here. She came here to watch him at the Olympics. She turned up two days ago, and we didn’t know,” Topalovic said.

“She actually stayed with us last night.

“It was just like everything fell into place, for Amalia to be there, for Cooper to win the gold medal. It was just something I’ve never experienced before. I’m losing my voice, sorry, because I’ve never screamed (so much).

“I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t cried like this for a long time.”

Shirvo: “Top, you’re making me cry. That is an incredible story. We know how much you’ve put into this sport, and to see it come together like that tonight is just an amazing thing.”

Topalovic said Cooper’s upset victory in the mogul event “was nothing short of incredible” and “like no other performance I’ve seen”.

“Two days ago on Tuesday in the qualification rounds, Cooper was, you know, skiing good. He wasn’t skiing great. He was skiing good,” Topalovic said.

“But today he came out with his A-game and each run just got better and better. And to be quite honest, we didn’t expect to see Cooper sitting first in the superfinals of the eight men last out of the gate.

“And that’s the first time Cooper has ever been in that position through his mobile skiing career. And he absolutely nailed the best run of his life to win the gold medal. Incredible, Shirvo. I can’t believe it still.”

Source: https://7news.com.au/sport/snow-sports/cooper-woods-family-in-shock-as-girl-he-rescued-turns-up-at-winter-olympics-to-watch-her-hero-we-didnt-know-c-21622246