With Australia having its most successful Winter Olympic Games to date, I just want to take a second to congratulate all the athletes who competed and gave their best. Australia was represented by three alpine athletes and one ski cross athlete, three seeing their Olympic debut in Milan Cortina 2026!

Harry Laidlaw represented the Alpine men in Bormio recording a solid 29th place, from bib 39, in the Giant Slalom in his second Olympic Games.

Madison Hoffman and Phoebe Heaydon were both on debut in Cortina. Phoebe contested both the GS and SL, recording a very strong 34th place result in the GS, starting from bib 52. Phoebe unfortunately DNF’d early in the Slalom race however has gained invaluable experience which she will carry forward in her racing career. Madison Hoffman, also on debut, stepped in to the start gate in Cortina after missing out on her Olympic debut in Beijing 2022 due to injury. Madi skied very strongly and attacked on her second run finishing in 23rd position in the Slalom.

Meanwhile up in Livigno, Kyra Wheatley was on debut for her first Olympic Games in the Ski Cross. Kyra managed a 23rd in the individual seeding run and then in the final’s heats found herself in a battle to the line ultimately finishing in 25th position.

With the Olympics finished, there is still much racing action to come over the coming weeks. The Paralympics kick off on March 6th though the 15th, and I encourage everyone to cheer on the Aussie athletes!

The Para Alpine Skiing Team is (classification in brackets):

• Josh Hanlon (LW12): men's downhill, combined, giant slalom, slalom and super-G
• Michael Milton (LW2): men's giant slalom, slalom
• Liana France (LW6/8-2): women's giant slalom, slalom
• Georgia Gunew and guide Ethan Jackson (AS2): women's giant slalom, slalom 

Watch all the action from Milano-Cortina live on 9Now

Alpine World Junior Championships in Narvik, Norway also will kick off next week with five Aussie’s competing between March 8th and 15th. Abbey Evans will start things off, along with Felix Sachs, competing in the Super G. Abbey will then compete in the Giant Slalom alongside teammates Phoebe Heaydon, fresh off her Olympic debut, as well as Cate Dance and Madison Gilson, who will also compete in Slalom. On the men’s side it will be Felix Sachs representing Australia also in the Giant Slalom and Slalom races. Congratulations to all the athletes selected and fast skiing up north!

• Abbey Evans (2005) – Super G, Giant Slalom
• Phoebe Heaydon (2005) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Cate Dance (2005) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Madi Gilson (2008) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Felix Sachs (2008) – Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom

Watch all the Aussies in Action at the Junior World Championsips via SnowLive

On the Children’s race calendar, we will have a group of U16 and U14 athletes competing in Folgaria ITA at the Alpe Cimbra FIS International Children’s races on March 5-6th. This competition will bring together U14 and U16 competition from around Europe and overseas for two days of giant slalom and slalom. For the U16’s we will have Zahli Books, Xavier Lees, Zephyr Lusted, Harry Gilson, Sam Davis, Will Thompson and Oscar Johnson, while in the U14 age category we will have Lucas Books and Clover Rogers competing.

Moving a little later in March we can keep our eyes open for the Ski Cross World Junior Championships being held in St. Moritz, SUI on March 19-21st. I want to say congratulations and fast racing to those athletes representing Australia:

• Duncan Cowan (2006)
• Dakota Turner (2006)
• Ellie Coomber (2008)
• Charlotte Coomber (2006)

There is still a lot of winter left for training and racing, and I look forward to seeing what all of our Aussie athletes can achieve over the next months.

Cheers
Shawn Fleming
National Alpine Director

Australia’s Para alpine skiing team for the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games features a sporting legend who is set to break the record for the longest ever Australian Paralympic comeback. 

The team also includes a skier set to become the nation’s youngest female Winter Paralympian, a Beijing 2022 representative who is ranked firmly within the world’s top 10 in his pet discipline, and a debutante and her sighted guide whose mutual trust has become a hallmark of their performances in the vision impaired classification.

Paralympics Australia proudly announced the team of four skiers and one guide to compete at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, which starts on March 6 with the Opening Ceremony at the Verona Arena, paving the way for nine days of intense competition. 

Peter Forras, Al Guss and Steve lee: The Intensity of Alpine

Alpine skiing is the ultimate race against gravity, combining blistering speed, technical precision and fearless commitment. 

With brutal courses, icy conditions and enormous pressure, Alpine delivers some of the most dramatic moments of the Winter Olympics. 

We spoke with Australian Olympians Peter Forras (Calgary 1988), Al Guss (Sarajevo 1984) and Steve Lee (Sarajevo 1984, Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992) to preview the Milano Cortina venues, key contenders and the storylines to watch.

What makes Alpine unique compared to other Winter Olympic events?

Peter Forras: “The speed, length of run and airtime you get in downhill is unique, thrilling to watch and on the edge. Super G is more technical but in the same vein. Slalom and Giant Slalom are even more technical and all feature racing down the mountain against the clock as fast as you can go through the course setter’s flags.”

Al Guss: “The Euro winter history of our forefathers, how creative they were to develop evolution the technology and equipment used, the ungroomed runs, the development of using the Army to boot-stamp the courses to set the snow (no machine grooming back then), the techniques of The-Turn evolution...

Five Australians have been selected to compete at the 2026 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in Narvik, Norway.

Fresh off her Olympic campaign, Phoebe Heaydon will headline the team which will compete in Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom events.

The 2026 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships will take place in Norway from 5-15 March 2026.

Snow Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection:

• Abbey Evans (2005) – Super G, Giant Slalom
• Phoebe Heaydon (2005) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Cate Dance (2005) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Madi Gilson (2008) – Giant Slalom, Slalom
• Felix Sachs (2008) – Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom

Watch all the Alpine Skiing action at the Junior World Championships via SnowLive.  

Snow Australia has selected a four-strong Australian team to compete at the 2026 FIS Ski Cross Junior World Championships.

Set to be held in St Moritz, Switzerland from 18-21 March, four young Australians will don the green and gold for Australia including siblings Charlotte and Ellie Coomber.

The Junior World Championships will get underway on 18 March with the qualifying rounds.

Snow Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection: 

• Duncan Cowan 
• Dakota Turner 
• Ellie Coomber 
• Charlotte Coomber 

After more than a decade on snow, Australian para-alpine skiing Sam Tait has announced his retirement from elite competition, stepping away from the sport he helped grow as he prepares for a new chapter in his life. 

Tait’s story and career is one defined by resilience, reinvention and inspiration that reached far beyond the finish line.  Growing up on the Perisher ski fields, his love for skiing was almost immediate. 

When his life changed at age 22, following a motorcycle accident - his life-altering injury didn’t halt his passion for the snow and competitive spirit. 

The transformation to get into sit-ski was electric and what began as a way to find freedom again led him straight into the Australian Para-alpine skiing development squad.

Making his international debut in 2016, Tait quickly proved he belonged among the world’s best. 

Snow Australia invites the members, guests and wider community to join us in celebrating the incredible achievements of our athletes and coaches over the past 12 months highlighted this year by the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina.

Buy Tickets for the 2026 Snow Australia Awards Here

The Snow Australia Awards recognises the achievements of our snowsports athletes and coaches on the world stage. The Awards have been presented in various forms for over 30 years and have highlighted the achievements of Australia's best ski and snowboard athetes and coaches as well as recognising the work of individuals and organisations from the wider Australian Snowsports industry.