2026 Snow Australia Awards | Male Athletes of the Year - Olympic
Published Mon 13 Apr 2026
The Snow Australia Awards celebrate the standout performances and defining moments of our elite snowsport athletes over the past year. Today, we’re proud to honour the 2026 Male Athletes of the Year across the Olympic disciplines, as nominated by their National Discipline Committees.
These athletes are now nominated for the overall Male Athlete of the Year - Olympic Disciplines, which will be presented at the Snow Australia Awards on Thursday 23 April in Melbourne.
Male Athletes of the Year
| Alpine Skiing Harry Laidlaw |
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With strong European Cup results, including a top-20 finish in the Turnau (AUT) Giant Slalom, and selection to his second Olympic Winter Games team, Harry earns the Alpine Skiing nomination for Male Athlete of the Year. |
| Ski Cross Liam Michael |
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Competing across European and World Cup events, Liam’s season highlight came at the Craigleith World Cup (CAN), where he achieved a top-30 finish. |
| Cross Country Hugo Hinckfuss |
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Hugo delivered a packed season across the World Cup and U23 World Ski Championships, capped by standout performances at the Olympic Winter Games. He placed 42nd in the Olympic Sprint - the best-ever Olympic sprint result by an Australian. In the Olympic Team Sprint, a ninth-place qualifying result saw Hinckfuss and Lars Young Vik finish 14th overall, marking the first time Australia has reached the finals in this event. |
| Aerials Reilly Flanagan |
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Reilly completed a full World Cup schedule before making his Olympic Winter Games debut, where he teamed with Danielle Scott and Abbey Wilcox to finish fourth in the Team event. |
| Moguls Cooper Woods |
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Cooper became an Olympic Champion at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, defeating moguls legend Mikael Kingsbury and other top contenders. After progressing through Qualification Run 2, he topped the first final with a score of 83.60, earning the right to ski last in the super final for the first time in his career. Under immense pressure, he delivered an even stronger run, scoring 83.71 to claim the gold. |
| Snowboard Slopestyle/ Big Air Valentino Guseli |
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Val finished 10th in Big Air at the Olympic Winter Games after an exceptional qualifying performance to reach the finals. He backed this result up with a 5th place in the halfpipe event at the Games. Consistent strong results throughout the season in halfpipe, big air and slopestyle events secured him second overall in the rankings. |
| Snowboard Halfpipe Scotty James |
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Scotty James won his third Olympic medal - a silver - at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, marking his fifth Olympic appearance. He continued his dominance with an outstanding season, claiming his eighth X Games title and winning the Laax World Cup. |
| Freeski Slopestyle/ Big Air Joey Elliss |
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Joey competed across World and European Cup events, with his season-best performance coming at the Big Air European Cup in La Clusaz (FRA), where he finished fourth. |
| SkiMo Phil Bellingham |
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Phil became a four-time Olympian at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and Australia’s first male Ski Mountaineering athlete at an Olympics. After placing fifth in his heat, he advanced to the semifinal and finished 12th overall. Teaming with Lara Hamilton, he also placed 12th in the Mixed Relay. |
| Snowboard Cross Adam Lambert |
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Adam finished the season ranked second in the World Cup standings, collecting two World Cup victories and four podiums. At the Olympic Winter Games, he competed in both the individual and team events, placing fourth alongside Josie Baff in the latter. |