Pairs skaters Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore made history,  claiming Australia’s first ever medal at the prestigious International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix series, whilst competing in the Skate Canada event in Halifax, Canada.
 
The two-time World Junior Championship medallists made a great start to the event, recording a career best score of 64.81 points in the opening short program which put them in third place after the opening round.
 
In the final free skate event, the pair scored 121.33 points, giving them a final ranking of third with a total score of 186.14 points to secure Australia’s first ever medal at the ISU Grand Prix series, improving on their two fourth place finishes in the previous season.
 
Taking the win in their home event were 2024 World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada on 197.33, with Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan in second.
 
“We feel honoured and very proud to be able to say that we claimed the first ever Grand Prix medal for Australia, hopefully it’s the first of many” said the 22-year-old Giotopoulos Moore from Sydney.
 
“Being our first competition of the season it was quite challenging both physically and mentally, we are a little bit disappointed with our performance as we know it’s not the best we could’ve done, but we accept what it is and are ready to train hard and improve on the mistakes we made.”

The ISU Grand Prix series commenced in 1995, Australia had medalled previously at the Skate Canada Event wen it was a part of the ISU Challenger Series, with Stephen Carr and Danielle McGrath claiming bronze in 1992.
 
The pair will next compete at the Finlandia Trophy ISU Grand Prix event in Helsinki, Finland, on November 15-17.
 
Also competing for Australia at the ISU GP in Canada were Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan, who finished in tenth place.

2024 World Championship bronze medallist Brendan Corey has started his 2024-2025 season strongly, with a seventh place A-Final performance at the opening event of the season in Montreal, Canada.
 
In the 1500m event, Corey placed second in the opening rounds heat, won his quarter-final and in the semi-final was advanced to the A-Final after being taken out by another skater.
 
The A-Final featured three Korean and two Canadian skaters, with Corey crossing the line in seventh in a time of 2:20.187, with Canadian home town skater William Dandjinou taking the win in a time of 2:18.607 seconds.
 
Corey also raced in the 500m and 1000m, where he finished 27th (500m) and 34th (1000m).
 
Joining Corey in Montreal for Australia were AIR athletes Lucas Wareham and Hyo Jin Kim.
 
Wareham placed 66th in the 500m, 46th in the 1000m and 69th in the 1500m.
 
In the women’s event Kim was 43rd in the 500m, 40th in the 1000m and 37th in the 1500m.
 
The next World Cup event will again take place in Montreal next weekend, after the event had to be moved from Salt Lake City due to the venue not meeting safety barrier criteria in time for the event.

Australia’s first ever Olympic Winter Games medallist in skeleton, Jackie Narracott, has announced her retirement from competition.

In a historic career which included representing Australia at two Olympic Winter Games, Narracott will be remembered for winning Australia’s first ever sliding sports World Cup gold medal in January 2022 in St Mortiz, and a few weeks later claiming another Australian first, with the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Hailing from Brisbane, Narracott’s Olympic dream came from stories about her uncle Paul Narracott who was the first Australian to compete at both a Summer and Winter Olympic Games. He ran in the men’s 100m and 200m at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 before participating in the two-man bobsleigh at Albertville 1992.

Narracott took her first ride on a skeleton sled in 2011 and quickly made her skeleton World Cup skeleton debut at the end of 2014. 34 years after her uncle’s debut, Narracott made her own Olympic dreams come true as she represented Australia in the 2018 winter games in Pyeongchang, finishing in 16th place.

In an incredible performance turnaround in mid-January 2022, Narracott broke though for her first medal and World Cup win at St Moritz in Switzerland. This smashed Narracott’s previous personal best World Cup finish of seventh place, achieved in 2016,

In less than one month after St Moritz, Narracott attended her second Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and made sporting history with an almost faultless silver-medal on the biggest stage of all against the world’s best. Narracott showed nerves of steel over two days and four runs of competition in a remarkable performance to secure Australia’s fourth and final medal at its most successful Winter Games so far.

The 33-year-old who had battled injury in recent times, reflected on her outstanding 13-year-career in the sport.
“I am retiring from skeleton, the last 12-18 months have been a journey to get from winning the medal in Beijing, to then taking the year off and having knee surgery at the beginning of the year, the rehab from that confirmed that I don’t have the mental or emotional capability reserves to do this again.

“As much as I would ideally love a World Championship medal, and particularly with this year’s one being in Lake Placid on my learning track, I can’t do it. To compete with the girls who are the best in the world, I know what I would have to put myself through and that is another Olympic season, and there’s nothing left.

“The end of an era, and the end of me being an athlete, and that’s a hard transition to make, when in my head I have been an athlete since I was nine. All I ever wanted to be was an Olympian, so to get there twice I am very proud of that, and to medal is phenomenal and well beyond anything I thought I would ever get when I first started.

“To everyone who has been a part of my journey from when I was nine and just starting though to the last couple of years, thank you. There is no way I would be sitting here with my achievements without your help.

“It’s been long, it’s been fun, I hope I am not the last, I want my achievements to ensure the next generation to go and shoot for their dreams. Just because we come from a small nation without a track, it doesn’t mean it’s not possible.”

Newly appointed Chef de Mission for the Australian Team to compete at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games - Alisa Camplin-Warner AM Quotes
“The end of an extraordinary career, what Jackie achieved in Beijing was just phenomenal, the preparation that she put in to peak at that exact moment is something she and Australia will never forget, and I am sure she will enjoy finding her next thing in life she wants to apply herself to.

“She is a remarkable human and extraordinary athlete, and has such a deep understanding about what it takes to succeed, particularly in sliding sports. With the QAS supporting our Bobsleigh and winter sliding athletes, it’s just fantastic she’s going into the system now to support the next generation to help pay it forward.”

Australian Olympic Committee President - Ian Chesterman Quotes
“Jackie is one of the athletes that I admired most during my time working in sport and with teams. She went on to win that incredible silver medal, but she did it for years and years on the smell of an oily rag, she had to maintain her own motivation and desires.

“She got herself in the right form at the right time, so that was a fantastic reward for her for what was a long career of striving almost solo on that woman’s skeleton tour to produce that end result and that success, and I can only wish her the very best.

“I am delighted she will remain in the sports system, she has a lot to give and others will really learn from her and understand her empathy of having to do it really tough and yet still have the perseverance and resilience to get though and ultimately succeed.”

OWIA CEO – Geoff Lipshut Quotes
“Jackie’s is a remarkable story or perseverance and determination; she found a way to do her sport all over the world with limited support over eight years and then in the space of one month in 2022 capped her career with her maiden World Cup win and an Olympic silver medal.

“Jackie’s efforts over many years are a credit to herself and family and the OWIA (Olympic Winter Institute of Australia) together with our partner QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport) are very proud to have helped Jackie be an Australian winter sport trailblazer.”

Images - Credit IBSF/ Viesturs Lacis Rekords