Young squad gains valuable experience in Lillehammer

Australia’s emerging cross-country skiers have tested themselves against the world’s best young athletes at the 2026 FIS Cross Country Junior and U23 World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, with a team of 10 competing from 2-8 March.

Eight members of the squad returned after competing at the 2025 championships in Schilpario, Italy, while Hugo Hinckfuss and Maddie Hooker arrived in Norway after representing Australia at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Olympic duo who produced the standout results for the Australian team.

In his final appearance at the event, 23-year-old Hinckfuss came agonisingly close to progressing beyond the sprint qualification round, finishing 32nd and just three-tenths of a second outside the top 30 required to advance to the quarter-finals.

Hinckfuss also showed strong improvement in the distance races, lifting his 10km interval start result from 64th in 2025 to 46th this year before finishing 56th in the 20km mass start. Having also competed at the Junior World Championships in 2022 and 2023, the Lillehammer event marked the end of a long run of age-category championships for the two-time Olympian.

Hooker continued her progression at the international level, recording her first ever top-50 finish at a junior or U23 world championship with 43rd in the U23 sprint. She backed that up with 50th in the 10km interval start and a strong 36th in the 20km mass start, the best distance result by an Australian across the championships.

Isabella Moon, competing at her second U23 championships, matched her interval start result from 2025 with 59th in the 10km classic. Her highest finish came with 49th place in the sprint while she was 55th in the 20km mass start.

Jayden Spring stepped up to the U23s this year after two previous appearances at the Junior World Championships. While he couldn’t replicate the top-30 sprint results he achieved in the junior field in recent seasons, the 20-year-old still secured a top-50 result with 48th in the sprint and placed 75th in the 10km interval start.

Vincent de Souza returned for his second U23 championships and produced results similar to those he recorded in 2025, highlighted by 68th in the sprint and 71st in the 20km mass start. Noah Bradford contested his third straight U23 championships after also racing at Junior Worlds in 2023, with his best result of the week coming in the mass start where he was 67th.

In the junior ranks, 17-year-old Satara Moon gained valuable experience in her first appearance at the championships. The 2024 Youth Olympian finished 49th in the sprint and 66th in the 10km interval start.

Clancy Merrick Harvey improved on his results from last year’s championships, finishing 74th in the 10km interval start after placing 84th in the same event in 2025. The 2024 Youth Olympian also contested the sprint for the first time at the championships, finishing 74th, and placed 80th in the 20km mass start.

Samuel Johnson, another member of the 2024 Youth Olympic team, scored his best result in the sprint with 69th, more than 15 places higher than his placing in 2025.

Rounding out the junior team was Harri Silvester, who made his debut for the Australian national team. The 19-year-old gained important international racing experience across the program, with his best finish of the week coming in the 20km mass start where he placed 89th.

While the breakthrough podium performance of Rosie Fordham at last year’s event was unable to be replicated, the championships once again provided an important development opportunity for Australia’s emerging athletes, many of whom will continue building their international resumes and potential World Cup opportunities.