Aussie Olympic team mark 100 days to go

There is officially less than 100 days to go until the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, with Australia’s Moguls athletes this week returning to Brisbane’s world-class Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre, as part of the final training block ahead of Olympic qualification. 

While many of Australia’s Olympians and Olympic hopefuls are already overseas ahead of the start of the northern-hemisphere winter season, the Moguls team will depart Australia from next week for the last of the international competitions, with Olympic Team selection due to be finalised in late January. 

Australia’s Chef de Mission, Alisa Camplin-Warner AM was on hand to celebrate the milestone as well as see first hand how athlete preparations are tracking. 

“This is a very exciting moment in the lead up to the Milano Cortina Games. The vast majority of Australia’s winter athletes have either left or are about to leave the country, to enter the northern winter for pre-season training and competitions,” said Ms Camplin-Warner. 

“This final phase of readiness brings both anticipation and nerves. Every athlete is keen to get their best tricks, skills and strategy in place, before competing for vital quota places to qualify for Games selection.

“Seeing some of our athletes in action today, at our state-of-the-art training facility here in Brisbane fills me with pride. 

“We have an extremely hard working, focused and strong team, with some very experienced athletes setting the tone for a great Games.

“All going well in the competitive season ahead, this could be one of the largest, deepest and broadest Teams that we have ever sent to a Winter Olympic Games. I hope Australia will fully embrace the once in a generation magic that is this team.

“I wish all of our amazing and talented athletes the very best of luck for the season ahead, Australian’s everywhere can’t wait to see you in action, and I look forward to seeing you all in February at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games.”

Defending Olympic gold medallist, Jakara Anthony OAM – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete – is looking strong heading into the final 100 days, after making her way back from collarbone injury that she suffered during last year’s World Cup season. She said she’s excited to mark the 100 days to go milestone.

“I’m excited! The last three years have just flown by and it’s been a bit of a mix of everything for me…a record breaking season in 2023/24 and then being injured and missing my first season last year,” said Anthony. 

“Now 100 days out from the Games it’s pretty wild that it’s coming up so fast. But we’ve had some great training opportunities and we’ve got a lot more coming up along the qualifying period. So there’s lots more to happen between now and then but we’re all pretty ready for it,” she said. 

Triple Olympian Matt Graham (NSWIS), knows what it takes to be standing on the podium, taking the silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The 31 year old team veteran said the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre has helped take the Aussies to a new level.

“I’ve been in the sport for a long time now and to watch it evolve from training and jumping into a swamp down on the outskirts of Melbourne, to now training here at the Geoff Henke Winter Olympic Training Centre in Brisbane, it’s game changing for us. 

“We’re fortunate enough that our local resorts down in the Snowy Mountains help us a lot, we train primarily down in Perisher. They provide one of the longest and steepest courses in the world which we get access to eight weeks a year during our winter,” he said. 

For 20 year old Charlotte Wilson (NSWIS), her sights are firmly set on making her Olympic debut in Milano Cortina,  the new Olympic discipline of dual moguls is one she has quickly built a reputation as ‘one to watch’, winning gold at the Olympic Test Event in Livigno earlier this year. 

“That was a pretty crazy experience (the Livigno Test Event) – I wasn’t even supposed to be there and found out I was competing on the plane ride over there,” said Wilson. “I was just taking it all as an experience, to see the Olympic course and really gear up for the qualification period this year.

“The gold medal has also given me a lot of confidence heading into next year, I’m really excited. I’ll take that confidence of knowing where I’m at and knowing I can be competitive.” 

Cooper Woods (NSWIS) is on track to qualify for his second Olympic Games after making his debut at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.  He is excited for the opportunity to this time compete in front of family, friends and fans. 

“To have family and friends at the next Winter Olympics is going to be absolutely insane. I’ve only got one experience, and that’s at the Beijing Olympics and there was no one there except our staff and our team mates. As winter sports athletes it’s very hard for our family and friends to travel the world.

“Also to have the European Training Centre in Verase as a base in the lead up to the Games, to have Aussies in the crowd is going to be amazing and I can’t wait for it,” he said. 

Alongside the men’s and women’s dual moguls making its Olympic debut in Milano Cortina, three more new events will also debut across existing sports including Skeleton Mixed Team, Luge Women’s Doubles  and Women’s Large Hill Ski Jumping.

A new sport on the schedule will be Ski Mountaineering (Ski Mo) with three new events – men’s sprint, women’s sprint and mixed team relay.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be held from 6-22 February in Milano Cortina.  For more information, click here. 

MILANO CORTINA 2026 FAST FACTS

The Australian Team

·        Australia is expected to send a team of around 55. In contrast, the Australian Team at the Cortina D’Amprezzo Games in 1956 was 10 competitors and at Beijing 2022 it was 43 competitors.

·        Olympic champion aerial skier Alisa Camplin is the Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission for the Milano Cortina Games

·        Australian athletes are in their qualification phase – qualifying for the Games for majority of sports is based on World Ranking in December 2025 and January 2026 – meaning the fight to qualify and compete will go right up until the Games.

·        The Australian Olympic Team in Beijing 2022 Winter Games secured our greatest ever medal haul with four medals – one gold, two silver and bronze.

·        Australia is likely to qualify athletes in 12 of the 16 disciplines.

·        The new events Australia will likely to compete in – SkiMo Mixed Team Relay, Men’s Dual Moguls, Women’s Dual Moguls

·        Australian athletes are expected to compete at six of the seven competition clusters.

·        Many of Australia’s leading winter athletes are inline for selection in 2026, including five of the six medallists from the last two Games – Jakara Anthony, Scotty James, Matt Graham, Tess Coady (NSWIS) and Jarryd Hughes (NSWIS).

The Games

·        2900 athletes from more than 90 nations will compete from 6 – 22 February 2026, with the Games hosting 116 medal events across 8 sports and 16 disciplines – Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing (includes Aerials, Moguls, Ski Cross and Freeski), Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Ski Mountaineering, Snowboarding (Includes Snowboard Cross, Halfpipe, Big Air, Slopestyle) and Speed Skating.

·        Milano Cortina 2026 will be the first Winter Games to be planned and delivered fully in line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, ensuring a focus on sustainability, legacy and efficient use of existing facilities.

·        Milano Cortina 2026 is the first time two cities have officially hosted a Winter Olympics and marks the third time Italy has hosted a Winter Olympics – 20 years on from Torino 2006 and 70 years after Cortina hosted for the first time in 1956 (Cortina D’Ampezzo).

·        Milano Cortina 2026 will be the 25th Winter Olympics.

·        From the Opening Ceremony in Milan’s famed San Siro stadium to alpine events in the Dolomite mountains and freestyle skiing and snowboarding in Livigno, there are seven separate competition clusters in the most geographically spread Games ever, covering an area of 22,000 km2. Cortina is around 400km northeast of Milano.

·        First competition will commence two days before the Opening Ceremony – with Mixed Curling on 4 December

·        Event gender split of 1538 men, 1362 women (Approx 53/47% gender split – closest in Winter Olympic history)

·        The Games mascots are Tina (Olympic mascot) and Milo (Paralympic mascot).

·        The Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee have released the medal design and details on the torch relay, which will build excitement and anticipation on its 63-day journey through Italy with 10,000 torchbearers transporting the Olympic flame through 110 provinces in Italy, from 6 December 2025 to arrive at the Opening Ceremony in Milan on 6 February. 

The Events/Venues

·        116 medal events across 8 winter sports and 16 disciplines.

·        Ski Mountaineering (Ski Mo) will make its Olympic debut with three new events – men’s sprint, women’s sprint and mixed team relay.

·        Also, five more new events across existing sports – Skeleton Mixed Team, Men’s Dual Moguls, Women’s Dual Moguls, Luge Women’s Doubles and Women’s Large Hill Ski Jumping.

·        The new events Australia will likely to compete in – SkiMo Mixed Team Relay, Men’s Dual Moguls, Women’s Dual Moguls

·        Some iconic locations will host Olympic events including Opening Ceremony at San Siro – home ground of AC Milan and Inter Milan football clubs, the Closing Ceremony will be at the Verona Arena – built almost 2000 years ago, and the impressive slopes of the Dolomites will host various outdoor events.

·        A couple of the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic venues will be used in 2026. Olympic Ice Stadium (now known as the Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio) will in 2026 host the curling competition. In 1956 it hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, figure skating competitions and some ice hockey matches. The Olympia delle Tofane run, which hosted the men’s downhill race in 1956, will in 2026 be used for the women’s Alpine events and new Team Combined event.

Australian Olympic Committee