Greta Small and Louis Muhlen-Schulte have both competed in World Cup events in Europe over the past few days, with Madison Hoffman in action on the European Cup circuit.

Three-time Olympian Greta Small took part in the downhill event in Val d’Isere, France, finishing in 48th place.

The next women’s World Cup speed events take in place in the new year on January 13-14 in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria.

In the first of two giant slalom World Cup’s in Alta Badia Italy, 2022 Olympian Muhlen-Schulte finished the first run in 51st place, missing on the top-30 needed for the second run.

A second giant slalom event will take place tonight in Alta Badia Italy tonight featuring Muhlen-Schulte.

Madison Hoffman competed in two slalom European Cup events at Valle Aurina/Ahrntal in the South Tirol in Italy.

On day one Hoffman finished in 38th place, and then improved in the second event placing 27th.

Hoffman will compete in the World Cup slalom in Courchevel, France, on December 21.

2018 Olympian Harry Laidlaw is also nearing a return to competition after injury interrupted his start to the northern hemisphere winter

Walker and brakewoman Kiara Reddingius then finished the weekend in the best possible way in the two-woman, claiming the best ever result for Australia in World Cup competition.

Walker and Reddingius started the event with the third fastest time in run one with a time of 52.90 seconds, and then in run two had the fourth fastest in 52.82 seconds. Their two run time of 1:45.72 seconds put them in fourth place, just 0.8 seconds off the podium.

Germany clean swept the event in the two-woman, with Lisa Buckwitz winning all three events in Innsbruck.

“I was pretty confident that we could produce a great result in the two-woman off the back of the two monobob podiums. The vibe was high so we took that into the race and produced a great performance,” said Walker.

“Those two runs were probably the best I have ever had in a race on this track so very happy to finish on that note.”

“I didn’t do much two-woman last season, so getting back into racing in the two events has been a juggling act, but we have a great team around us that helps manage it extremely well.”

“I am very grateful for the team we have on board this season. We are really starting to build the right people around us to produce the results we know we are capable of!”

Brendan Corey has continued his recent good form at the ISU Short Track World Cup event in Seoul, Korea, with a seasons best finish of seventh place in the 1000m distance.

The result improves on his eighth place finish last weekend in the 500m in China.

Corey made it though to the semi-final round, but finished fourth which put him in the B-Final. In the B-Final Corey finished in second place to give him a final ranking of seventh.

The 2022 Olympian also made it through to the B-Final in the 1500m (2) event, where he finished in 11th place.

Also in action for Australia was Lucas Wareham who finished 46th (500m) and 48th (1000m).

Bobsleigh pilot Bree Walker has continued her success on the Igls track in Innsbruck, Austria, taking her first monobob World Cup medal of the season with a silver medal performance.

The 2022 Olympian has podiumed on the Igls track every season since 2019, while competing across various levels of the sport.

Walker made a strong start recording the third fastest time in the opening run in 55.99 seconds. In the second and final run, Walker improved to finish with a time of 55.43 seconds which was the second fastest of the round.

Her two-run combined time of 1:51.42 was just 0.25 seconds behind event winner Lisa Buckwitz of Germany, with her teammate Laura Nolte rounding out the podium in third, 0.05 seconds behind Walker in third.

“Really happy with today’s race. It often takes me a race or two to get the ball rolling, so proud to stand on the podium for Australia today,” said the 31-year-old from Queensland.

“We have two more races this weekend so the job is not finished yet. We practically have a new team this year and everyone is doing such a great job, I am really excited by who I have on board, makes days like today all the more special.”

“I don’t really know what it is about this place but I just understand the track well, I have a good start which matters on this track and I just enjoy racing here. We are still waiting to hear if this is the venue for the 2026 Olympics so only time will tell.”

Doug Crawford has made a great start to his 2023-2024 season, with a double podium performance at the European Cup events in Idre Fjall, Sweden.

On day one of competition, Crawford finished in second place in the big final, and then on day two Crawford went one spot better, to record his first ever European Cup victory.

Crawford now has three European Cup career podiums.

This week Crawford will compete in his first World Cup events of the season in Innichen, Italy, with qualification on December 19-20 and finals on December 21 and 22.

Three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo has competed in the second FIL Luge World Cup of the season on the 2010 Olympic track in Whistler, Canada, finish in tenth place, a personal best finish for the Queensland slider.

The 28-year-old qualified for the main event World Cup after placing second in the preceding Nation's Cup competition.

In the World Cup event, Ferlazzo finally broke through for his first top-10, which has been so close in the past 12-months after multiple 11th place performances.

Ferlazzo had the 13th fastest first run time with 50.692 seconds, and then had an improved second run finishing in a time of 50.588 seconds which was the 11th fastest time of the round.

His two run total time of 1:41.28- seconds gave him a final ranking of 10th and his best World Cup finish.

Taking the win was German slider Max Langenhan with a combined time of 1:40.093 seconds, 1.197 seconds ahead of Ferlazzo.

The next World Cup event takes place in the new year on January 6-7 in Winterberg, Germany.

QAS bobsleigh pilot Bree Walker has opened her season with equal fifth place finish at the IBSF World Cup monobob event in La Plagne, France.

Competing at the French Alps track, Walker also backed up the following day in the two-woman Bobsleigh event alongside brakewoman Kiara Reddingius, finishing in seventh place in their first event back together since the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and equalling their personal best result in IBSF World Cup.

In the monobob, Walker had an impressive first run, with the equal second fastest time on the La Plagne track along with German Laura Nolte in a time of 1:04.05 seconds,

In the second run, where the top competitors go in reverse start order, conditions unexpectedly got slower as the event progressed disadvantaging the fastest sliders from the first run. Walker finished with the equal sixth fastest run, again with Nolte again recording the same time in 1:04.27 seconds, giving them both a two-run time of 2:08.32.

Taking the win was American Kaysha Love in an incredible World Cup debut with a two run time of 2:07.92, with Swiss driver Melanie Hasler in second and Andreea Grecu of Romania in third.

Next up was the two-woman, with Walker and Reddingius finishing the first run in eighth place in a time of 1:01.84 seconds.

The pair went faster in run two, with the sixth fastest time of the round in 1:01.38, giving them a two run time of 2:02.22, 0.98 seconds behind event winner Nolte and Schuten of Germany.

"It's one of the most beautiful places on the tour, so we have thoroughly enjoyed being here," said Walker.

"The track was a little bit bumpy, but we made it work, and ultimately walking away with a solid result and we just build from here."

"I have a brand new team in terms of new coaches and then also Kiara is back, so we just need to get back in the groove of things, but to walk away with a fifth in the monobob, and seventh in the two-woman with Kiara which equals our best ever result so far, so really happy with that.

"The altitude is pretty rough up here, I am pretty excited to get back to lower altitude, but you have to make it work, everyone is dealing with the same conditions, so we just made the best of what we could this weekend."

Walker will be aiming for the podium at the World Cup next weekend in Innsbruck, Austria, a location she has had great success previously.

Competing in the third ISU World Cup of the season, 2022 Olympian Brendan Corey has finished in eighth place at the short track speed skating event in Beijing, China.

The result is his best finish of the season, and also a personal best in the 500m distance on World Cup.

Corey also made it through to the semi-final in the 1500m distance, finishing in 19th place.

After the event, Corey commented

"I was feeling fast leading up to the Asian stint of World Cup's, and my performance in 500m this past weekend shows that I am one of the fastest in the world.

"I was not expecting this result, I have never had a top 15 finish in the 500m at a World Cup before.

"Considering the 500m is my weakest event, I was going into the event with a top-20 finish as my goal.

"This eighth place exceeded all my expectations, and I am very happy with how I skated and the speeds I achieved on the ice. I'm excited for what the rest of the season."

Also in action for Australia was Lucas Wareham who finished in 36th (500m) and 38th (1000m).

The World Cup athletes have now headed to Seoul, Korea, for World Cup competition from December 15-17.

The opening luge World Cup for the 2023-2024 season has taken place in Lake Placid, USA, with three-time Olympian Alex Ferlazzo finishing in 11th place.

Ferlazzo made a great start to the competition in Lake Placid, easily qualifying for the World Cup start after placing third in the Nation's Cup event.

In the World Cup event, Ferlazzo had a great first run with the eighth fastest time, making it down the track in a time of 51.381 seconds.

Unfortunately on his second, Ferlazzo slipped back with the 15th fastest run in 51.86 seconds.

His two run total time of 1:43.250 seconds have him a final ranking of 11th, matching his personal best World Cup finish from last season.

The next World Cup event will take place in Whistler, Canada, on December 14-16.

The FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup returned to Europe over the weekend, with Louis Muhlen-Schulte and Greta Small representing Australia.

Muhlen-Schulte competed in his first World Cup of the season in Val d'Isere, France, but his day ended early as he missed a gate and was unable to finish his first run.

Unfortunately Small had no luck in St Moritz, Switzerland, with the Downhill event being called off after the first 35 competitors. Before the event was called off for the remaining skiers, Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA claimed victory, giving her World Cup win number 91.

Small has now seen four Word Cup events cancelled this season due to weather, with snow and wind playing havoc with many World Cup's in Europe and North America so far this season. 

On the final day in St Moritz, Small missed out again when the super-g event was unable to commence at all due to heavy snowfall the night before.

2022 curling Olympians Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt competed over the weekend in the Winnipeg Open Mixed Doubles Super Series at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Manitoba, Canada.

In total 18 teams competed in the event, with six teams in each pool, seeing Team Australia drawn in Pool A.
Pool A Group Matches

Gill and Hewitt finished with a record of three wins and two losses from their games played in the group stage, giving them a ranking of third in their pool, which advanced them through to finals.

Vs Arbuckle/Macdonell – Won 8-7
Vs Cotter/Cotter – Lost 3-10
Vs Einarson/Einarson – Won 7-5
Vs Nickel/Nickel – Won 10-1
Vs Walker/Muyers – Loss 6-8

Finals
In the quarter-finals, Gill and Hewitt were up against American pair Sarah Anderson and Andrew Stopera. In a close game, they were narrowly defeated by the American’s with a score of 6-4, ending their tournament in equal fifth place.

It was an all Canadian final, with Kadriana Lott and Brayden Stewart defeating Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres with a score of 7 to 6.

Dean Hewitt commented after the event:

"After I sustained an injury a week before the event, we decided to swap the sweeping duties for this event to Tahli. This is a big change for us and created challenges, but formed great learnings that we will build on for our second half of the season."
 
"We are quite happy with the result on the weekend to make it to the quarterfinals with such a large change occurring so close to the event."
 
"We are now heading home for Christmas for a short break before we jet off to Canada again on Boxing Day for our second half of the season."
 
"It’s an exciting time for us since we now have a full time coach. We’ll be working with Perry for the next few months to prepare for the World Championships in April which will be held in Östersund, Sweden."
 
All IMAGES - © Carla Buelow