Australian Snow Athletes Primed for Winter Olympics

Australian winter athletes have been thriving on the world snow stage and hitting form at the exact right time heading into the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in February.

Here is a wrap of the key northern hemisphere results. The Milano - Corina 2026 Winter Olympics Games are scheduled for February 6-22, and the full Australian team will be announced soon.

Snowboarding Halfpipe

Snowboard halfpipe superstar Scotty James has delivered a career highlight performance under lights at the prestigious Laax Open in Switzerland in mid January, winning gold and leading a memorable double‑podium result, with fellow Aussie Valentino Guseli claiming bronze.

In the best‑of‑two‑run night final, James opened with a score of 84.00 points on his opening run. He then produced one of the finest performances of his illustrious career, as the last rider of the night and needing a score better than 91 points to win. With a pure pressure performance James soared to the top of the leaderboard with a spectacular second run scoring 98.75 points. The victory is the eleventh World Cup win of his career, and third consecutive Laax halfpipe title, and fifth career triumph at the iconic venue.

James began his winning run with a switch frontside triple cork 1440 indy, then a frontside double cork 1260 stalefish, a backside double cork 1080 stalefish, a switch backside double cork 1440 mute, and ended with a backside double cork 1260 mute on the sixth and final hit. The final two trick combination had never been done in competition before.

Guseli secured his place on the podium with a strong opening‑run score of 80.25 points, earning the bronze medal, the twelfth World Cup podium of his career.

The podium in Laax had a distinct ANZAC flavour, with New Zealand’s Campbell Melville Ives finishing between the two Australians in second place on 91.00 points.

“It’s honestly one of my favourite events on the calendar, huge shoutout to Laax, they are a visionary when it comes to freestyle, and they give us the platform to come here and ride every single year and do what we love, “said the 31-year-old James from Warrandyte in Victoria.

“To put it down in my last run is a bit of a dream come true and feeling good so I just have to keep it up.

“I have been working on some things, and this year is a tough year, its amazing competition, and I want to give a shout out to the ANZAC’s, two Aussies and a Kiwi on the podium which is unbelievable. The Japanese are also riding amazing, so you must put your best foot forward this year to try and get a chance or a sniff of the podium, and I am just grateful to be here, so I am pumped.

“We are probably going to be in for one of the most exciting, thrilling and competitive Olympics in history amongst the whole field in the halfpipe, it’s exciting for me and I hope it’s exciting for everyone, and I can’t wait to go to battle with everyone.” 

In early January, Valentino Guseli claimed his first World Cup victory since February 2024, delivering a gold medal performance in Calgary, Canada. The victory capped a historic day for Australia’s winter sport youth movement, following 15-year-old Indra Brown’s breakthrough win in the women’s freeski halfpipe earlier in the day.

In the best-of-two-run night showdown, he opened with an unbeatable score of 87.75 points, securing the win before his second run and turning it into a celebratory “victory lap.”

“It was great, it was the most fun run I have had it this pipe all week, so happy to end my time in this pipe off like that,” said Guseli after completing his victory lap final run.

“I am stoked, Calgary has always treated me very nicely, and I was really happy to be back in Canada after a two-year hiatus. Feels good to be back on the top step and looking forward to pushing for more."

Snowboard Cross

 Jindabyne’s Adam Lambert has secured the first World Cup victory of his career in China and is leading the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup standings. The result gives him back‑to‑back podium finishes in China and marks his third straight podium to open the season, an encouraging sign with the Olympic Winter Games in Italy now only weeks away. 

The gold‑medal performance comes in Lambert’s 75th career World Cup start across individual and team events. He had previously recorded eight career podium finishes but had not yet stood on the top step. 

“I came in today and yesterday with a pretty solid plan, and that was to not lead at the beginning, but finish first at the bottom, and I managed to execute that to perfection. I can’t believe it, I am so stocked,” said 28-year-old Lambert from Jindabyne in the NSW Snow Mountains. 

When asked how important this victory is on the way to the Olympics and keep the momentum going, Lambert replied. 

“Of course it does, but it’s just important for me personally as an athlete who had been competing for so long, and this is my very first win and I am just so excited that it’s finally happened.”

Fellow Jindabyne resident, Josie Baff, captured a silver medal in the first of two China events and leads the women’s standings. After qualifying sixth, Baff opened strongly in the finals, winning her quarter-final and finishing second in her semi-final to progress to the big final.  

The result marks the 16th World Cup podium of Baff’s career.

Mogul Skiing

Mogul skier Jakara Anthony has rewritten Australian winter sports history, taking out her 26th World Cup victory with a commanding performance in Waterville Valley, USA, surpassing legendary aerial skier Jacqui Cooper on 25 wins to become Australia’s all‑time World Cup wins leader. 

The 27‑year‑old from Barwon Heads, Victoria, now heads into the Milano‑Cortina Olympic Winter Games on a three‑event winning streak, and ranked number one on the World Cup standings as she prepares to defend her Olympic gold medal. 

“I guess I have a good track record here now,” said Anthony, who was a double winner in Waterville last season. “It hasn’t been the easiest comp this month, and the season’s been all over the place. I’m just super stoked to put down a few really clean runs.” 

“It’s a nice place to leave the World Cup season on hold until the next one,” added Anthony, as she gets ready for next month’s Olympic Games. 

Matt Graham claimed a second place in Vat St. Come, Canada on January 10, the same event where Jakara Anthony notched up gold.

Their second consecutive dual podium finish propels both athletes into the coveted yellow leader’s bib ranked number one on the standings, the first time Australia has simultaneously held the top ranking in both men’s and women’s moguls.

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury claimed victory with 85.83, his 100^th of his career.

Graham and Kingsbury’s rivalry has been a constant in both their careers; the good friends will now do battle for Winter Olympic glory, Graham capturing a silver medal in PyeongChang 2018, and Kingsbury the defending champion.

“It was huge for Mikael Kingsbury to get his 100^th World Cup win, said Matt Graham.

“I was glad I was able to share that moment with him, we have competed against each other for a long time and shared a lot of podiums together. Happy I have slowed him up from winning on three separate occasions, but I am super happy for him and his family.” 

Earlier in the mogul season, Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony both won in Ruka, Finland. 

Bobsleigh

 Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has created history, becoming the first Australian to win a gold medal on the legendary “Celerina” St Moritz track in Switzerland, with victory in the monobob event in mid January. 

The Celerina track in St Moritz is one of the sport’s most iconic venues, as the only current track featuring hand-cut ice and natural refrigeration. Steeped in tradition, it hosted the 1928 and 1948 Olympic Winter Games bobsleigh events. 

Walker has capped off a superb World Cup campaign with a silver medal in the final monobob event of the season in Altenberg, Germany. Her great form sees her in second place for the third consecutive year in the final World Cup season rankings. 

Walker will head into next month’s Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina full of confidence after her best season including three victories, a total of five podium finishes, from seven World Cup starts. 

Aerial Skiing

Danielle Scott has wrapped up the Olympic qualification period in style, delivering back-to-back podium finishes at the final Aerial Skiing World Cup events in Lake Placid, USA. After claiming gold on the first day, Scott added a bronze medal, bringing her career tally to 27 World Cup podiums. 

Despite challenging conditions with strong winds and falling snow, three Australians advanced to the top-12 finals after performing the same full-full double twisting double back somersaults. Scott qualified second with 88.51 points, Laura Peel was close behind in third on 87.57, and Abbey Willcox secured sixth with 84.42. 

“It’s been a slow start to the season for me, but these back-to-back podiums over the past few days are what I am looking for,” said the 35-year-old Scott from NSW.

“We’ve had tricky conditions, but I have done some nice jumps and I am looking forward to the next month’s training.

“The girls right now are doing some really big jumps, its super exciting. For the conditions out here today, I just played the game and put my jumps down, but I am super inspired by what the girls are doing and can’t wait to get out there and do it too. 

“We’ll stay in Lake Placid for a few more days of training before heading to Switzerland to knuckle down and get everything we need in place ahead of the Olympics in Italy.” 

Australia’s aerial skiing double World Champion Laura Peel has stormed back to form, securing her first World Cup victory of the season with an impressive performance at Lac-Beauport, Canada.

In the super-final, all three podium finishers delivered the challenging full-full-full triple twisting back somersault. Peel led the way with a big score of 113.76 points, followed by American Winter Vinecki in second on 109.90, with China’s Xu Mengtao third on 97.02. 

“I don’t know if we’ve had three full-full-full’s on the podium before,” said the 36-year-old from Canberra. 

“It feels really good to be back. I’m really happy with that jump, with my jumping all day. Yesterday wasn’t really my day, and I’m really stoked to come back today with that. 

“It’s epic to see women out there doing the big tricks, because we can. It’s great fun. 

In the final World Cup standings for the season, three Australians finished inside the top 10, Laura Peel in fifth, Danielle Scott seventh, and Abbey Willcox tenth, with Airleigh Frigo just outside in eleventh place.

Skiing Halfpipe

Melbourne teenager Indra Brown has continued her incredible World Cup debut halfpipe season with her first gold medal performance in Calgary, Canada. Brown now boasts three consecutive podium finishes since her debut in early December, making it one of the most impressive starts to a career at her age in winter sports history.

Brown claimed bronze on debut in China in early December, followed by silver in the USA before Christmas, and now gold in Canada. Her victory equals a record set by Sweden’s Jennie-Lee Burmansson during the 2017–2018 season.

Brown has also made history for Australia, becoming the first Australian skier to secure more than two Freeski Halfpipe World Cup podiums, surpassing Davina Williams and Amy Sheehan, who each claimed two. 

“I’m really excited and happy to be here, and excited for more,” said Indra Brown.