Top Australian medal contenders for the 2026 Winter Olympics
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are almost here, kicking off on February 6, and these top Australian athletes have the podium firmly in sight. Find out which Aussies could be taking home gold
READING LEVEL: GREEN
How many medals will Australia add to its overall tally of 19 at the coming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics?
There are a host of Aussies who are right in the mix for medals in Italy, including past winners such as Scotty James and Jakara Anthony.
Here are some of the top Aussie champions to watch.
JAKARA ANTHONY
Already an Olympic gold medallist after she won the women’s freestyle skiing moguls* in Beijing in 2022, Anthony is aiming to become the first Aussie to win two golds at the Winter Olympics.
In brilliant form, the Victorian is the clear favourite to retain her individual title after dominating the World Cup in the four years since Beijing, despite missing almost a full season after undergoing surgery for a broken collarbone.
The inclusion of dual* moguls to the Olympic program has given her a big shot at winning two more medals this time around.
MATT GRAHAM
Like Anthony, Graham will have two cracks at getting a medal because he competes in single and dual moguls and is killing it on the World Cup circuit.
From the NSW Central Coast, Graham is competing at his fourth Winter Olympics, having debuted* over a decade ago at Sochi in 2014.
He won a silver medal at PyeongChang in 2018 and has collected five medals at the world championships, a record for an Australian in any winter sport.
At age 31, he’s already said this could be his last chance for gold so he’s going all in.
SCOTTY JAMES
Among the greatest snowboarders ever, James is a legend in the half-pipe who has won everything imaginable, except Olympic gold. No one deserves the ultimate prize more than James and he has a great chance at what will be his fifth Olympics after he made his debut as a 15-year-old in 2010.
He was Australia’s flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremony in 2018 and won a bronze medal that year as well as a silver in 2022. Now married with a son and the reigning world champion, he’s going all out this time after secretly preparing a new routine packed with death-defying tricks.
VALENTINO GUSELI
Another daredevil on the half-pipe, Guseli is a superstar in the making.
Like James, he’s fearless on his snowboard and a teenage prodigy*.
Raised on the NSW South Coast, Guseli broke the world record for the highest half-pipe jump when he was just 16, then made his Olympic debut at the same age at Beijing in 2022, finishing sixth.
Since then, he’s won a silver medal at the world championships and picked up three crystal globes before injury ruined his 2025 season. Fit again, he’s already had one win and two third placings on the World Cup circuit in 2026.
BREE WALKER
A former hurdler from Melbourne who made the switch to winter sports in the belief that was her best chance of becoming an Olympian, Walker was overlooked for the 2018 Games despite making the qualifying standard. However, she made her Olympic debut in 2022, finishing fifth in monobob*.
Now she’s a bona fide star. She’s finished second on the World Cup season standings three times and won 17 World Cup medals, including six gold.
Australia has never won a medal in bobsleigh but Jackie Narracott won silver in skeleton* four years ago.
DANIELLE SCOTT
Scott is a four-time Olympic aerialist* still shooting for the stars. A former gymnast who turned her attention to aerial skiing when she was in her early teens, Scott has been one of Australia’s most consistent performers ever since and is still getting better with age. She has won bronze and silver medals at world championships and won the Crystal Globe for the season’s top pointscorer in 2023 and 2024.
JOSIE BAFF
Australia has claimed only one medal in snowboard cross but suddenly has three great chances this time.
From Cooma, the same NSW town that produced Torah Bright, Baff, 23, has been emerging as a major talent for some years now.
She won gold at the 2020 youth Olympics, a silver medal at the world championships and has been on the podium 14 times at World Cup individual events.
In the mixed team event, she paired up with Adam Lambert to win gold at the world championships in 2023.
ADAM LAMBERT
From Jindabyne, Lambert is heading to his third Olympics with a spring in his step, after establishing himself as a genuine medal contender.
Originally a slopestyler* who transferred to boardercross* after injuring his knee as a teenager, Lambert was a regular top 10 finisher for years before a late surge of form.
He’s now leading this season’s overall World Cup points standings after three successive podiums, including his first gold at the final pre-Olympic in China.
And he also has a second chance of a medal in the mixed team event with his partner Baff.
INDRA BROWN
Brown is a teenage whiz-kid who has virtually come from nowhere to suddenly loom as a potential medallist. She’ll have just turned 16 at the Olympics. If she does get on the podium, Brown will be the youngest Aussie ever to win a medal at the Winter Games. A freestyle skier in half pipe, she had her sights set on the next Winter Olympics in 2030 but qualified four years ahead of time after winning bronze, silver and then gold at her first three World Cup events to lead the season standings.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- moguls: mogul skiing, where skiers race down a slope and launch jumps over bumps of snow called moguls
- dual moguls: when two athletes compete side-by-side on a mogul course
- debuted: first time competing
- prodigy: a young person with exceptional talent
- monobob: a single person bobsleigh
- skeleton: a sport where the competitor races down an ice track on a flat sled lying face down and head first
- aerialist: a freestyle skiing event where the skier launches off a steep slope and ramp and performs several aerial tricks up to 20m in the air before landing on a steep, icy hill
- slopestyler: snowboarding or skiing with aerial tricks over a course with different obstacles like jumps and rails
- boardercross: a race between four to six snowboarders down a sloped course with turns, drops and jumps
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QUICK QUIZ
1. What is Jakara Anthony aiming to achieve?
2. Which sport did Bree Walker originally compete in?
3. How many times has Danielle Scott competed in the Winter Olympics?
4. Which NSW town is Josie Baff from?
5. Why did Adam Lambert transfer to boardercross?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Which sport?
Choose one of the sports in the story. Create a poster. The purpose of the poster is to help other kids understand the rules of the sport, why it will be fantastic to watch and to make them fans! Use your research skills to help you.
Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
Using the information from the story, choose the three athletes who you think are most likely to win gold. Write sentences explaining your choices.
Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education
VCOP ACTIVITY
My winter Olympic hero
Write a letter to one of the Winter Olympic athletes. Explain to them how proud you are of them, why they are a hero to you, and that you have noticed them. Your letter can be anonymous or you can personally sign it off.
Remember when writing a letter:
- Start with a greeting: Dear Sir,
- Then on a new line, write the body of the letter.
- Finish with a closing: Kind regards,
- And finally, sign the letter.
Try to include detail and emotion in the letter to connect with your target audience: your Winter Olympic hero.