The Luge World Cup tour moved to Oberhof, Germany, for two consecutive weekends of competition leading into next month’s Olympic Winter Games.
 
In the opening World Cup event in Oberhof, three‑time QAS Olympian Alex Ferlazzo delivered one of his strongest Nation’s Cup qualifying performances of the season, securing a spot in the main World Cup field with a fifth‑place finish.
 
Ferlazzo started the World Cup race with a time of 43.087 seconds, ranking 17th after the first run. He improved in the final run, clocking 42.999 seconds, the 15th‑fastest time of the round. His combined two‑run total of 1:26.086 earned him 17th place overall.
 
The event was won by Austria’s Jonas Mueller, who finished 1.537 seconds ahead of Ferlazzo with a combined time of 1:24.549.
 
Luge athletes will remain in Oberhof for the final World Cup event on January 22-24 before the Olympic Winter Games.

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has capped off a superb World Cup campaign with a silver medal at the final monobob event of the season in Altenberg, Germany.
 
Walker’s great form has her second  for the third consecutive year in the final World Cup season rankings. Walker heads into next month’s Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina full of confidence after her best season including three victories and a total of five podium finishes from seven World Cup starts.
 
Walker opened her Altenberg campaign with a strong first run, combining a solid push with excellent driving to produce the third‑fastest time of the heat at 59.50 seconds. She backed it up with an impressive performance in the final run, clocking the second‑fastest time of 59.60 seconds.
 
Her combined total of 1:59.10 secured the silver medal, and the 17th World Cup medal of her career.

The USA’s Kaillie Armbruster Humphries claimed victory with a two‑run combined time of 1:58.97, finishing 0.13 seconds ahead of Walker, while Germany’s Laura Nolte placed third in 1:59.16.
 
“I am absolutely stoked to finish on the podium again in the last race of the season, and especially here in Altenberg where I have sure had some interesting races,” said the 33-year-old from Queensland.
 
“To finish second, which then secured my second place overall, I am on top of the world. Very happy to finish the World Cup season like this, and it gives me a lot of confidence and momentum leading towards the Olympic Games in 20 days’ time.
 
“I definitely feel that my driving has gone to a whole new level this year. It’s been such a team effort to get me to this point.
 
“This season I just wanted to build momentum towards the Games, and I think we have done that. It’s been my best season so far, and I am filled with a lot of confidence and excitement heading toward Cortina.”
 
Also competing for Australia was Sarah Blizzard in 20th place.
 
Walker concluded the World Cup series with 1429 points in the overall standings, narrowly missing the Crystal Globe by just 17 points to Nolte, with Germany’s Lisa Buckwitz in third on 1320.
 
Walker and brakewoman Kiara Reddingius did not compete in the two‑woman event in Altenberg, leaving Blizzard and brakewoman Desi Johnson as the sole Australian crew in the final World Cup race of the two-woman season, where they finished in 15th place.

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has created history as the first Australian to win a gold medal on the iconic St Moritz track in Switzerland, with victory in the monobob event.
 
The QAS bobsleigh pilot has now won three World Cup events this season, elevating her to second in the overall standings with just one event remaining before the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
 
The Celerina track in St Moritz is one of the sport’s most iconic venues, as the only  track featuring hand-cut ice and natural refrigeration. Steeped in tradition, it hosted the 1928 and 1948 Olympic Winter Games bobsleigh events.
 
The 33-year-old from Queensland set the tone in the opening run with a fast push and her trademark precision driving, clocking 1:11.98 seconds, the fastest time of the round and 0.14 seconds clear of second place.
 
In the final run, as the last competitor on the track, Walker delivered another flawless performance, stopping the clock at 1:11.29 seconds. Her combined time of 2:23.27 secured victory by a commanding 0.53-second margin, marking the sixth World Cup win of her career.
 
Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler claimed silver with 2:23.80, while Austria’s Katrin Beierl took bronze in 2:23.95.
 
After the race, Walker praised her coach Pierre Lueders for helping her achieve her breakthrough victory at St. Moritz.
 
“Pierre has been teaching me for years, and it’s been a slow process. He loves this track and has had so much success here, so I think I should dedicate this win to him today.”
 
Reflecting on Lueders’ reaction in the coaches’ box, Walker added:
 
“Well that's fantastic, I'm glad Pierre had a lot of fun today, I sure did, and especially to be on the podium with Kati and Mel, that's our dream podium and we had a really good time.”
 
Also competing for Australia was fellow QAS bobsleigh pilot Sarah Blizzard in 20th place.
 
The win moves Walker into second place on the monobob World Cup standings with 1219 points, trailing Laura Nolte of Germany by 27 points on 1246, with Lisa Buckwitz also of Germany in third with 1128 points.
 
Two Woman Bobsleigh World Cup
 
On the final day in St. Moritz, the two-woman World Cup event was contested, with Walker and brakewoman Kiara Reddingius finishing 16th, while Blizzard and brakewoman Desi Johnson placed 20th.
 
The last World Cup events before the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games will be held in Altenberg, Germany, monobob is on January 17 and the two-woman competition is scheduled for the following day on January 18.

IMAGES
Bree Walker in action (top) and leading the podium in St Moritz
© Viesturs Lacis/IBSF

Three-time QAS Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has finished in 16th place at the FIL Luge World Cup event in Winterberg, Germany.

First up in Winterberg for Ferlazzo was the Nation’s Cup qualifier, securing his spot in the World Cup field in seventh place.

In the World Cup, Ferlazzo was in 14th place after the first run in a time of 51.986 seconds. He then had the 16th fastest time in the second and final run in 52.130 seconds.

His two run combined time of 1:44.116 was 1.217 seconds behind event winner Jonas Mueller of Austria.

Ferlazzo will remain in Germany, as the World Cup tour now heads to Oberhof, for two weekends of competition before the Olympic Winter Games.

IMAGE
Alex Ferlazzo in Winterberg
© FIL

The first IBSF World Cup for 2026 was held in Winterberg, Germany, where QAS pilot Bree Walker secured ninth place in the monobob event, while fellow QAS pilot Sarah Blizzard and brakewoman Desi Johnson achieved a personal-best 17th in the two-woman competition
 
In the monobob, Walker opened with the fifth fastest run in a time of 59.22 seconds, and in run two finished in 59.64 seconds which was the 12th fastest of the round, with her two-run time of 1:58.86 ranking her ninth overall. Blizzard finished in 24th place.
 
The victory went to Germany’s Laura Nolte, who finished 0.49 seconds ahead of Walker. Canadian Cynthia Appiah claimed silver, while another German, Lisa Buckwitz, rounded out the podium in third.
 
“In the two-woman event, Blizzard and Johnson opened with the 14th-fastest time in run one at 57.81 seconds, before clocking 57.88 in run two, the 19th-best of the round. Their combined time of 1:55.85 secured 17th place overall—their best World Cup finish of the season so far.
 
Walker and brakewoman Kiara Reddingius were first on track, posting 58.02 in the opening run for 19th place. They improved slightly in run two with 57.38, finishing 19th overall with a combined time of 1:55.85.
 
Germany’s Laura Nolte made it a double victory, leading a clean sweep of the two-woman podium alongside brakewoman Deborah Levi. Teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide claimed silver, while Kim Kalicki, partnered with Leonie Fiebig and Talea Prepans, rounded out the podium in third.
 
The next World Cup stop is at St. Moritz on the iconic hand-cut Celerina track, featuring the monobob event on January 11 and the two-woman competition on January 12.

Three-time QAS Luge Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has kicked off the New Year with a solid performance, finishing 15th in the World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia.
 
Ferlazzo opened his campaign in Sigulda in the Nation’s Cup qualifier, securing his spot in the main World Cup field with an eighth-place finish.
 
In the World Cup competition, Ferlazzo posted a first-run time of 48.440 seconds, ranking 14th for the round. He followed up with 48.381 seconds in the second run, the 18th fastest of the heat. His combined time of 1:36.830 placed him 15th overall.
 
Germany’s Felix Loch claimed the top spot, finishing 1.412 seconds ahead of Ferlazzo, with Austria’s Jonas Mueller in second and fellow German Max Langenhan completing the podium in third.
 
Next weekend a World Cup event will take place in Winterberg, Germany.

Three-time QAS Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has finished in 11th place at the Luge World Cup event on the 1980 Olympic Track in Lake, Placid, USA, his best result of the season.
 
First up in Lake Placid for Ferlazzo was the Nation’s Cup qualifier, booking his spot in the World Cup field in seventh place.
 
In the World Cup, Ferlazzo had the 11th fastest times in both runs, to place him in the same position after two runs. His first run was completed in 51.305 seconds, and second run in a time of 51.364.
 
His two run combined time of 1:42.669 was 0.903 seconds behind event winner Felix Loch of Germany.
 
The next Luge World Cup will take place in the new year on January 2 to 4 in Sigulda, Latvia.

2022 Olympians Tahli Gill (QAS) and Dean Hewitt (VIS) have fallen just sort at the Curling Olympic Qualification Event (OQE) in Kelowna, Canada, to decide the final two places for the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy, finish in third place.
 
The 2025 World Championship bronze medallists opened the OQE in great form winning their opening four matches in Group B against France (5 to 4), Hungary (9 to 6), Spain (9 to 4) and New Zealand (8 to 4).
 
In the fifth game, they narrowly lost to The Netherlands 7 to 6, but rebounded to defeat Denmark (8 to 7) and defeated Chine in what could have been an elimination game for Australia 6 to 5 in a high-pressure win.
 
The win against China gave them top place in the Group B standings with six wins and one loss from seven games, advancing them to the playoffs which featured the top two team in each of the two groups.
 
Australia faced Group A winner the Czech Republic in the first playoff match for the ninth Olympic nation spot, but lost 6 to 5, placing them in the final match of the tournament for the tenth Olympic nation spot against Korea.
 
In the final game, both teams opened with a point in the first two ends.
 
Australia unfortunately did not score in the third end when they had the final hammer throw giving the Koreans a steal of two and the early advantage 3 to 1.
 
In the fourth end, Gill played a draw to the button, nudging out a Korean stone as she did so to score two points and level the game at 3-3.
 
In the fifth end, Korea’s Kim Seon-Yeong made a draw around front guards and scored three points to give her team a decisive 6-3 lead.
 
Australia reduced Korea’s lead to 6-5 with a draw for two in the sixth end, but a draw for one by Korea in the seventh extended their lead to 7-5.
 
Heading into the final end, Australia had no choice but to take risks and unfortunately gave up a steal of 3 points to make the final score 10 to 5, ending their Olympic dream.
 
The Australian duo can hold their heads high with their efforts over the past year and the entire quadrennial, which included becoming Australia’s first ever Curling World Championship medallists.

Tahli and Dean in action in Kelowna
© Chris Hocking

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has continued her outstanding form, winning her second consecutive World Cup monobob gold medal, this time in Sigulda, Latvia, after delivering an exceptional final run for the fifth victory of her career.
 
In warm conditions, Walker opened with the fourth-fastest time in the first run in 53.12 seconds. During the decisive second run, Walker produced one of her best performances of the season, combining a fast start with precision throughout the course for the fastest run of the round to finish in 53.36 seconds, giving her a two-run combined time of 1:46.48.
 
Walker’s consistency this season has been impressive, with three podium finishes and two victories from four starts.
 
Germany’s Laura Nolte claimed silver with a combined time of 1:46.59, just 0.11 seconds behind Walker, while Austria’s Katrin Beierl secured bronze in 1:46.62.
 
“Feeling on top of the world to finish 2025 with another win in the monobob,” said the 33-year-old QAS scholarship athlete from North Queensland.
 
“It was a great race today, my second run was awesome. When I crossed the line, it got me really fired up and I knew I'd move up a few spots, and to finish on top of the podium is just an awesome feeling.
 
“Over the Christmas break, I’ll be spending time with my Mum and Dad in Calgary. They’ve travelled all the way from Australia to join me, and it will be their first white Christmas, which is a big change from Cairns to minus 20 degrees in Calgary!
 
“I’m really looking forward to enjoying a wonderful Christmas with family and friends, while also taking the time to recover and reenergize for the rest of the season.”
 
After four events, Walker is now just three points of first place on the monobob World Cup standings with 842 points, behind Nolte on 845, with Lisa Buckwitz also of Germany in third with 760 points.
 
The next World Cup event for Walker will take place in the New Year on January 3 in Winterberg, Germany.

2022 Olympians Tahli Gill (QAS) and Dean Hewitt (VIS) have made an impressive start at the Curling Olympic Qualification Event (OQE) in Kelowna, Canada, winning their opening three mixed doubles matches.
 
The OQE will determine the final two places in mixed doubles for the Milano-Cortina Winter Games in February. Gill and Hewitt have been drawn in Group B and have recorded two strong victories so far, defeating France 5–4 in their opening match and overcoming Hungary 9–6. This morning they defeated Spain 9 to 4.
 
The Australians will face New Zealand, Netherlands, Denmark and China in their remaining group matches this week.
 
The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs for the final two Olympic spots on December 18 in Canada (December 19 in Australia).

IMAGE Team Australia © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

Australia’s leading Cross Country skier Rosie Fordham has made history achieving Australia’s best ever induvial World Cup performance with a 13th place finish in the 10km freestyle event in Davos, Switzerland.
 
The result marks the first time an Australian has finished in the top 20 in an individual World Cup race, surpassing Jessica Yeaton’s previous best of 24th in 2017.
 
Fordham completed the course in 27 minutes, 27.5 seconds, finishing 52.6 seconds behind event winner Karoline Simpson-Larsen of Norway.
 
Reflecting on her historic achievement, Fordham said:
 
“I’m super stoked with the result today. I’ve been chasing a top 30 for a while now and I knew the day would come, but this is just way beyond what I ever thought was possible.”
 
“It feels pretty surreal. It’s so cool to be able to break through in a sport dominated by Europeans.”
 
Results for Australian’s competing in Davos included:
 
Women’s Team Sprint
-    18th (Rosie Fordham and Phoebe Cridland)
-    23rd (Maddie Hooker and Ellen Soehol Lie)

Men’s Team Sprint
-    28th (Phil Bellingham & Bentley Walker-Broose)

Women’s Individual Sprint
-    55th Phoebe Cridland
-    59th Ellen Soehol Lie
-    70th Maddie Hooker

Men’s Individual Sprint
-    53rd Hugo Hinckfuss
-    55th Lars Young Vik
-    72nd Bentley Walker-Broose
-    87th Seve de Campo

Women’s 10km Interval Start Free
-    13th Rosie Fordham
-    50th Phoebe Cridland
-    54th Ellen Soehol Lie
-    64th Maddie Hooker

Men’s 10km Interval Start Free
-    66th Seve de Campo
-    78th Hugo Hinckfuss
-    85th Lars Young Vik
-    98th Bentley Walker-Broose

Rosie Fordham racing in Davos
© BILDBYRÅN

The FIL Luge World Cup tour shifted to the United States for two weeks of competition on historic Olympic tracks in Park City (2002) and Lake Placid (1980).
 
First up was Park City, where three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo began with the Nation’s Cup event, qualifying for the main World Cup in 15th place. In the opening World Cup run, Ferlazzo posted the 13th fastest time in a competitive 45.513 seconds.
 
Drama unfolded in the second run when Ferlazzo crashed out of turn two, coming off his sled. In a remarkable display of determination, he managed to hold onto the sled for much of the course and even jumped back on halfway down the track to complete the run in 58.071 seconds. His combined time of 1:43.584 placed him 19th overall.
 
Victory went to Austria’s Jonas Mueller, with Germany’s Max Langenhan in second and Italy’s Leon Felderer rounding out the podium in third.

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has delivered a commanding performance to claim the monobob World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway, recording the fastest times in both heats to dominate the competition.
 
The victory marks the QAS bobsleigh pilots fourth career World Cup win and continues her remarkable record on the historic 1994 Lillehammer Olympic track, where she now boasts three consecutive World Cup race victories.
 
Walker impressed with her best push starts of the season, ranking third in both heats, before setting the pace with a first run of 53.86 seconds and a second run of 54.02 seconds, for a combined time of 1:47.88.
 
Austria’s Katrin Beierl finished second in 1:48.32, 0.44 seconds behind Walker, while Germany’s Laura Nolte claimed third with 1:48.36.
 
“It was a great race today, I was really happy with both runs and both pushes, it was probably one of the best races I've done,” said the 33-year-old Waker from Queensland.
 
“I really enjoy Lillehammer, we spend a lot of time here in preseason, so it feels like coming home each time we come back. I enjoy the little nuances of the track and being able to put that all together in a run. Often I know I have done a fast run before I've even crossed the line if I've been able to execute certain parts of the track.
 
“The competition is so tough, we're going be jumping around all year in the rankings, but I am happy to be currently sitting second after the third race and we will just keep taking things race by race. “
 
After three events, Walker sits second in the monobob World Cup standings with 617 points, just 18 behind Nolte on 635, with Lisa Buckwitz also of Germany in third with 568 points.
 
Walker also competed in the two-woman event with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius, with the pair finishing in 12th place.
 
The final World Cup before the Christmas break takes place next weekend in Sigulda, Latvia, with the monobob event on December 20 and two-woman on December 21.

Women's monobob podium in Lillehammer
© Viesturs Lacis/IBSF

Australia’s leading mixed doubles curling team, Olympians Dean Hewitt (VIS) and Tahli Gill (QAS), have concluded their final competition before the upcoming Olympic Qualification Event (OQE), participating in the Madtown Double Down in Madison, Wisconsin. The tournament featured a strong field of 32 teams representing nine nations.
 
Hewitt and Gill finished with a 4–3 record, narrowly missing a place in the finals.
 
Match Results:

• Defeated Scheel/McMullin (USA), 7–3
• Defeated Hagenbuch/Laufer (USA), 12–6
• Lost to Ford/Campbell (CAN), 7–4
• Lost to Kim/Jeong (KOR), 6–4
• Defeated Dudt/Dudt (USA), 8–3
• Defeated Weldon/Franey (USA), 9–5
• Lost to Westman/Ahlberg (SWE), 8–4

 
The focus now turns to the Olympic Qualification Event, which will determine the final two mixed doubles spots for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The OQE will take place December 13–18 in Kelowna, Canada.
 

The FIS Cross Country Skiing World Cup moved to Trondheim, Norway this week for the second stop of the season, with nine Australian athletes taking part.
 
Rosie Fordham led the Australian contingent, delivering two strong performances with 36th place in the 10km interval freestyle and 40th in the 20km skiathlon. Both results count as Tier 3 finishes (top 60%), contributing towards Olympic qualification.

Phoebe Cridland also achieved a Tier 3 result, finishing 44th in the 10km freestyle.
 
The next World Cup event will be held in Davos, Switzerland, featuring a team sprint, individual sprint, and 10km interval race.

Summary of Australian results in Trondheim.

Sprint Classic
Women
67th - Maddie Hooker
68th - Ellen Soehol Lie
Men
75th - Lars Young Vik
78th - Phillip Bellingham
80th - Fedele de Campo
 
20km Skiathlon
Women
40th - Rosie Fordham
Men
73rd - Seve de Campo
86th - Bentley Walker-Broose
 
10km Freestyle
36th - Rosie Fordham
44th - Phoebe Cridland
72nd - Maddie Hooker
73rd - Ellen Soehol Lie
 
78th - Seve de Campo
89th - Bentley Walker-Broose
93rd - Phillip Bellingham
95th - Fedele de Campo

IMAGE
Rosie Fordham racing in Norway
© BILDBYRÅN

Australia’s top figure skating pair, Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore, kicked off their Northern Hemisphere season over the weekend at the 2025 Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia.
 
Competing in a field of 16 pairs, the duo delivered a solid short program, scoring 49.01 points to sit in 12th place
 
Unfortunately, they were unable to compete in the final free skate due to illness impacting Giotopoulos Moore which a;also impacted him on the previous day, forcing them to withdraw from the event.
 
Victory went to Audrey Shin and Nancy Balazs (USA), with fellow Americans Valentia Plazas and Maximillano Fernandez in second, and Switzerland’s Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bouvart rounding out the podium in third.
 
Next up for Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore—and ice dance pair Holly Harris and Jason Chan—is the prestigious Four Continents Championships in Beijing, China, scheduled for January 21–25 as the final lead up event to the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

The fourth and final ISU Short Track World Tour event was held in Dordrecht, Netherlands, with Brendan Corey once again advancing to the B-Final stage.
 
The VIS supported skater reached the B-Final in the 1500m for the third time this season, finishing fourth to secure an overall ranking of 11th. In the 1000m, Corey placed 24th after the repechage semifinals, and in the 500m, he finished 26th, also reaching the repechage semifinal round.
 
Australia was also represented by Lucas Wareham and Hyo Jin Kim, with Kim delivering her second consecutive top-25 finish in the 1000m, placing 25th.
 
Corey concluded the season ranked 12th in the 1500m, 17th in the 1000m, and 18th overall across all three distances.
 
Dordrecht marked the final Olympic qualification opportunity for Short Track Speed Skating. Corey is in a strong position to qualify for all three distances when the International Skating Union confirm quota allocations for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on December 12.

The Cross Country FIS World Cup tour kicked off in Ruka, Finland, with eight Australians in action to start the season.
 
Standout performances came from Rosie Fordham and Phoebe Cridland in the 20km Mass Start Free event. Fordham matched her previous World Cup personal best in this distance, finishing 35th, while Cridland was close behind in 46th. Both skiers were in contention for a top-30 finish for much of the race.
 
The Australian squad now heads to Trondheim, Norway, for the next round of World Cup competition, featuring the Sprint Classic, 20km Skiathlon, and 10km Interval Free events.
 
Summary of Australian results in Ruka.
 
10km Interval Start Classic
Women
60th – Rosie Fordham
64th – Ellen Soehol Lie
68th – Maddie Hooker
79th – Tuva Bygrave
Men
75th – Seve de Campo
84th – Phillip Bellingham
96th – Bentley Walker-Broose
98th – Fedele de Campo
 
Sprint Classic
Women
59th – Ellen Soehol Lie
65th – Maddie Hooker
74th – Tuva Bygrave
Men
66th – Lars Young Vik
81st – Phillip Bellingham
88th – Fedele de Campo
 
20km Mass Start Free
Women
35th – Rosie Fordham
46th – Phoebe Cridland
58th – Ellen Soehol Lie
61st – Maddie Hooker
67th – Tuva Bygrave
Men
71st – Lars Young Vik
75th – Seve de Campo
87th – Phillip Bellingham
94th – Fedele de Campo

IMAGE
Rosie Fordham racing hard in Ruka, Finalnd
© Chris Hocking

Three-time Australian Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has launched his international season on the track set to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, finishing 20th in the official Olympic Test Event.
 
The Cortina track welcomed athletes for two separate training weeks in November, culminating in the Test Event over the weekend, which counts towards Olympic qualification.
 
Ferlazzo posted a time of 54.041 seconds in his opening run, ranking 20th for the round. In the final run, he improved slightly with the 19th fastest time of 54.113 seconds, bringing his combined two-run total to 1:48.154 and 20th place overall—1.79 seconds behind event winner Jonas Mueller of Austria. The podium was rounded out by Kristers Aparjods of Latvia in second and Austrian Wolfgang Kindl, third.
 
The 30-year-old QAS slider from Townsville commented after the race.
 
“Cortina has been a blast! Learning a new track is always fun. Racing was difficult, there’s still a lot of work to do with the equipment side of things.”
 
“The North American races are home races now. It’s important for me now to get back to a familiar track and work on the basics and set up the sled for the rest of the season leading to the games.”
 
The opening World Cup of the season is next weekend in Winterberg, Germany. However, as the event does not count toward Olympic qualification, Ferlazzo has opted to travel to North America early, in preparation for the upcoming World Cup competitions in Park City and Lake Placid, USA.

QAS bobsleigh pilot Bree Walker came agonizingly close to back-to-back podium finishes to start the season, overcoming a lower back injury to secure fourth place at the IBSF World Cup on the Igls track in Innsbruck, Austria.

Walker opened the event in spectacular fashion, posting the fastest time of the first run with 56.01 seconds. However, during the initial push, she sustained a back injury that hampered her performance in the second heat. Despite her best efforts, Walker recorded the 11th fastest time of the round (56.34 seconds), bringing her two-run total to 1:52.35—just 0.02 seconds shy of third place.
 
Victory went to American Kaysha Love, finishing 0.33 seconds ahead of Walker, with Germany’s Laura Nolte in second and Lisa Buckwitz in third.
 
“I was very proud of the first run push and drive,” said the 2022 Olympian from Queensland.

“In the second heat I unfortunately hurt my lower back in the first push, so I couldn’t quite push to the intensity I wanted. This track is a push track, so if you don’t have a strong start, there’s not much you can do to make up for it.

“I’m happy to walk away with fourth considering the situation, and I’m taking away the positives—the first heat was very positive.”
 
In the two-woman event, Walker was joined by brakewoman Kiara Reddingius, but Walker was still impacted by the injury from the previous days which limited the push at the start and the pair finished in 18th place.
 
The next World Cup event is in Lillehammer, Norway, on December 13-14, the site of Walker’s double gold World Cup victories last season.

2022 Olympians Tahli Gill (QAS) and Dean Hewitt (VIS) have delivered an outstanding performance at the Aly Jenkins Memorial Mixed Doubles event, finishing second overall at the Martensville Curling Club in Saskatoon, Canada.
 
The tournament featured 18 teams from eight nations, with Gill and Hewitt dominating Pool A in the group stage, posting a perfect 4–0 record:
 
Group Stage Results

• Defeated Lamontagne/Lamontage (CAN) 8 to 2
• Defeated Lang/Lang (CAN) 11 to 3
• Defeated Kim/Jeong (KOR) 11 to 4
• Defeated Ye/Yu (CHN) 9 to 1

 
In the quarter-final, the Australians edged past Kim/Jeong (KOR) in a nail-biting contest, 8–7, before advancing to the final with a 6–1 semi-final win over Ye/Yu (CHN).
 
The gold medal match against Perret/Rios (SUI) came down to the wire, with Gill and Hewitt narrowly falling 5–4 after the last end, securing a silver medal finish.
 
Next up for the pair is the Madtown Double Down event in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, from December 4–7.

 

The European leg of the ISU Short Track World Tour kicked off over the weekend in Gdańsk, Poland, where 2022 Olympian Brendan Corey delivered standout performances across all three distances.
 
VIS supported Corey advanced to the B-Final in the 1500m, finishing 10th overall, his second B-Final appearance of the season in that distance. In the 1000m, Corey reached the quarter-finals, placing 11th, and recorded a season-best 22nd in the 500m.
 
Also representing Australia were Lucas Wareham and Hyo Jin Kim, with Kim achieving a season-best 22nd in the 1000m.
 
After three World Tour events, Corey sits 13th in the 1500m rankings, 14th in the 1000m, and 16th overall on the World Cup standings.
 
The final stop of the World Cup season and the last Olympic qualification event will take place in Dordrecht, Netherlands, from November 20–23.

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has kicked off the 2025–2026 IBSF World Cup season in style, securing a bronze medal on the newly rebuilt Olympic track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the venue for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
 
The medal performance is the 13th career World Cup podium for QAS bobsleigh pilot Walker, giving the 2022 Olympian great confidence ahead of February’s Olympic showdown.
 
The historic Cortina track, which staged the 1956 Olympics, last welcomed a World Cup in 2008. For years, uncertainty surrounded its future, but a rapid redevelopment, finished in just 300 days, has brought the venue back to life just in time for an official International Training Period in mid-November and opening World Cup of the season.
 
Walker opened the competition with a strong first run of 59.85 seconds, placing fifth in a tightly packed field where the top six athletes were separated by just 0.17 seconds. In the decisive second heat, Walker delivered under pressure with the second-fastest time of the final run (59.78), bringing her a two-run combined time of 1:59.63.
 
The battle for silver came down to mere fractions, with Walker finishing 0.01 seconds behind Kaysha Love of the USA. Germany’s Laura Nolte claimed gold, edging Walker by 0.16 seconds.
 
“My coach always says any day I finish on the podium is a good day, so very happy to finish third here for the first race of the season” said the 33-year-old from Queensland.
 
“I love the track here in Cortina, it’s really fun, a few technical corners especially at the top, and then it has a lovely flow down to the bottom, I am really enjoying driving here.
 
“My runs weren’t perfect, I am excited to come back here in February and be able to fix them up and see what happens on the other side.
 
Also in action for Australia was fellow QAS bobsleigh pilot Sarah Blizzard in 23rd place.

In the two-woman event, Walker was joined by another QAS scholar, brakewoman Kiara Reddingius, with the duo finishing in 18th place.
 
Sarah Blizzard was joined by brakewoman Desi Johnson in her World Cup debut, to register 23rd in the two woman sled.
 
The IBSF World Cup tour now moves to Innsbruck, Austria, where the monobob competition is scheduled for November 29, followed by the two-woman event on November 30.

Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has completed a ten-day training block on the newly rebuilt Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the venue for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games sliding events.
 
The historic Cortina track, which staged the 1956 Olympics, last welcomed a World Cup in 2008. For years, uncertainty surrounded its future, but a rapid redevelopment, finished in just 300 days, has brought the venue back to life. Recently homologated by the IBSF and FIL, the track opened for the first time for official Bobsleigh and Skeleton sliding during the International Training Period (ITP) from 7–16 November.
 
Athletes had their first runs on the 1,730-metre course, featuring 16 curves and speeds exceeding 140 km/h. Its technical upper section, flowing rhythm have already drawn praise from competitors.
 
“It’s been super special,” Walker said. “We originally thought that we weren’t going to have a track here in Cortina, so being here these past two weeks has been really exciting for many reasons.”
 
“I love learning new tracks from scratch. It’s such a challenge in the beginning, but when you start to get it, it’s really rewarding.”
 
“The track is really fun! It has a great flow to it. It’s not tricky to get down, but it’s still going to be good fun racing.”
 
“Our preparation is going well. We have worked really hard to learn the track as best as we can for now and I think we have done a great job considering it’s just my coach Pierre and I. So we go into this World Cup week feeling good and ready.”
 
The IBSF World Cup opener returns to Cortina this weekend for the first time in 17 years. Walker will line up in:

• Women’s Monobob on 22 November.
• Two-Woman Bobsleigh with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius on 23 November.

Sarah Blizzard also took part in the ITP, and will compete in both World Cup events in Cortina, teaming up with either Desi Johnson or Ashleigh Werner as her brakewoman for the two-woman.
 
This event marks the start of the final two months of Olympic qualification, which concludes on January 18, 2026.

2022 Australian Olympians Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt wrapped up a successful European competition block with a second-place finish at the Geneva Mixed Doubles Invitational, held from October 28–30.

The event featured a four-team round-robin format, with Gill and Hewitt facing off twice against elite pairs from Great Britain, Estonia, and Switzerland. The Australians delivered a strong performance, finishing with a 3–3 record, securing second place behind the undefeated British duo of Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds, the 2025 World Championship silver medallists.

Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill placed third, while Switzerland’s Briar and Yannick Schwaller rounded out the standings in fourth.

Match Results – Gill & Hewitt

• Draw 1 – Lost to Dodds/Mouat (GBR) 6–5
• Draw 2 – Defeated Kaldvee/Lill (EST) 8–7
• Draw 3 – Lost to Schwaller/Schwaller (SUI) 7–6
• Draw 4 – Lost to Dodds/Mouat (GBR) 6–5
• Draw 5 – Defeated Kaldvee/Lill (EST) 11–4
• Draw 6 – Defeated Schwaller/Schwaller (SUI) 10–5

This silver medal performance caps off a highly successful October campaign for Gill and Hewitt in Switzerland, where they also claimed two gold medals at earlier events. 

Their consistent podium results reinforce their status as one of the world’s top mixed doubles teams as they build momentum toward the final Olympic Qualification Event (OQE), which will determine the last two spots for the Milano-Cortina Games, taking place in Kelowna, Canada, from December 13 to 18.