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.