​Two-time Olympian Rosie Fordham now has the two highest individual World Cup finishes ever by an Australian cross‑country skier, following a 16th‑place result in the 20km mass start free event at the World Cup Final in Lake Placid, USA.
 
Fordham had already set the record for the best ever individual result by an Australian in December, when she finished 13th in the 10km free World Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
 
In Lake Placid, Fordham crossed the line 25.2 seconds behind event winner Jonna Sundling of Sweden to secure 16th place. She was also the leading Australian in the 10km interval start classic, finishing 44th and was 57th in the women’s sprint.
 
In the men’s sprint event, Lars Young Vik finished in 44th, with Olympic teammate Hugo Hinckfuss 52nd.
 
Result summary from Lake Placid
           
Women's 10km Interval Start Classic           
Rosie Fordham – 44th
Phoebe Cridland – 52nd
Maddie Hooker – DNF
           
Men's 10km Interval Start Classic    
Seve De Campo – 57th
Hugo Hinckfuss – 74th
 
Women's Sprint Qualification                      
Rosie Fordham – 57th
Phebe Cridland – 59th
           
Men's Sprint Qualification    
Lars Young Vik – 44th
Hugo Hinckfuss – 52nd
Seve De Campo 74th
 
Women's 20km Mass Start Free      
Rodie Fordham – 16th
Phoebe Cridland – 55th
 
Men's 20km Mass Start Free
Lars Young Vik – 74th
Hugo Hinckfuss – 75th
Seve De Campo – 77th

​Rosie Fordham, Maddie Hooker, Phoebe Cridland and Ellie Søhol Lie made history today in the women’s 4x7.5km Cross-Country relay, becoming the first ever Australian Cross-Country relay team to compete at a Winter Olympic Games. 

​​Article courtesy olympics.com.au

Battling soft snow and wet conditions, the team took on the demanding relay format consisting of two classic technique legs followed by two freestyle legs. The Aussie team finished up 14th position out of 19 starting teams.  

Cridland was overjoyed when reflecting on the team’s experience. 

“It was just super special. I think we all came into today with an extra pep in our step knowing that it was going to be an historic day. And then to be able to finish now, we're just really elated.” 

Fordham also acknowledged the challenging conditions faced throughout the race. 

“We fought so hard to make it all the way to the end. And you just see even though people crashed and even though maybe things didn't go exactly to plan, everybody's fighting as hard as they can because we all want that moment where we cross the line together.” 

An eventful race saw Sweden lose the early lead following several crashes, opening the door for Norway to take control and secure a dominant victory. Sweden crossed the line 50 seconds later in second place, followed by Finland in third. 

With no men’s relay on the Olympic program, the Australian Cross-Country athletes will now have a few days to recover before returning to competition for the team sprint on February 18. 

​Finishing 33rd in the women’s 10km Individual Freestyle event, Rosie Fordham recorded the second-best individual Olympic result in Australian Cross-Country Skiing history. 

Behind Fordham, Phoebe Cridland placed 49th, Ellen Søhol Lie 57th, and Maddie Hooker 77th in a strong team showing. 

Article courtesy olympics.com.au
​
“The uphills were long and really hard, especially the last one,” Fordham said. “You look at it afterwards and think, how did I even get up that?” 

With family watching from the stands, the moment carried extra meaning. 

“It’s so nice to have them here,. They don’t get to watch me race very often because it’s so far away, so having the whole crew here is really special. They’d be happy no matter how I went, which makes it even nicer.” 

Hooker also embraced the Olympic crowd, enjoying a late sprint battle to the finish. 

“It was a really cool race, loads of cheering and a great atmosphere,” Hooker said. “I had a really fun sprint finish, which was exciting.” 

Lie reflected on the demanding course. 

“I liked the first loop, but the second and third lap were just hard,” she explained.  

“That’s also my weakest side, so I spent a lot of time in offset today.” 

Looking ahead, her focus is already on what’s next. 

“The relay is going to be unreal here. I’m really excited for it.” 

Phoebe Cridland described the race as close to the toughest of her career.  

“The hardest thing was knowing another hill was coming,” she said. 

“It was a bit hard to hear splits because of the noise, but it was pretty cool. People were enjoying themselves.” 

Frida Karlsson of Sweden secured a dominant win by 46 seconds, ahead of Ebba Andersson, while USA’s Jessie Diggins completed the podium in a tight battle for third.

Australia will return to the start line in the men’s 10km individual freestyle tomorrow, with Hugo Hinckfuss, Lars Vik Young and Seve De Campo set to race. 

The first starter goes off at 11:45 CET (9:45pm AEDT). 

​​Ellen Søhol Lie, Maddie Hooker, Hugo Hinckfuss and Lars Vik Young took on the 2026 Milano Cortina classic sprint overnight. ​

In cross-country sprint racing, the fastest 30 athletes from the men’s and women’s qualification rounds advance to the knockout stages, progressing through the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. 

Article courtesy olympics.com.au

The Olympic course features two short, sharp climbs followed by a long, decisive uphill. From there, athletes navigated a fast right-hand sweeper before charging back into the stadium for the final sprint to the finish line. 

 In rapidly warming conditions, the 1.6km track initially firm after an overnight freeze gradually slowed throughout the morning. 

The Aussie quartet delivered historic results, with Hugo Hinckfuss placing 42nd, the best-ever Olympic sprint result in Australian history. Lars Vik Young recorded an equal second-best Australian Olympic sprint result, finishing 51st out of 95 athletes. Ellen Søhol Lie finished 50th, an equal second-best-ever result by an Australian woman in a sprint, while Maddie Hooker skied a strong race to 67th place out of 89 athletes. 

After illness earlier in the season, Lars Vik Young said: “The skis are really good. It's the best I've felt physically in a really long time, so that's good.” Looking ahead, he added: “The team skate sprint is my favourite, so the shape's coming.” 

Ellen Søhol Lie said: “I actually enjoyed the race. We had good skis and good grip, that was fantastic, and the crowd was good.” Looking ahead to the 10km skate on the 12th, she added: “There's a lot of uphill, so I'm looking forward to the downhills. I'm looking forward to a good race where I hopefully can use my power wisely.” 

In the women’s event, Sweden dominated the final, with Linn Svahn taking gold, followed by Jonna Sundling, while Maja Dahlqvist rounded out the podium. 

Norwegian great, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo claimed his second gold medal of the Games, followed by American, Ben Ogden, with Norwegian, Oskar Opstad Vike completing the podium. 

The Australian women’s cross-country team delivered a determined performance in the skiathlon in Val di Fiemme, fighting hard across both the classic and freestyle legs of the race. 

Rosie Fordham was the leading Australian, finishing 49th after a strong effort to avoid being lapped by the lead group, who set a fast pace from the start. Fordham was in 56th at the transition into skate and made her way through the field in her preferred technique for a top 50 finish. 

​Article courtesy olympics.com.au

“The classic part was really hard. I was struggling on the flats and downhills, but I knew if I could just hang in, I’d feel good once I switched to skate,” Fordham said. 

“As soon as I put the skate skis on, I felt incredible and was able to start catching people.”

Phoebe Cridland, Ellen Søhol Lie, and Maddie Hooker were unfortunately lapped by the leading group as the tempo increased following the switch from classic to freestyle.

Despite the challenging conditions, the team showed promising form, with positive signs heading into the upcoming races. Performance Manager Finn Marsland noted that the classic waxing did not quite hit the mark on the day but emphasised the team’s motivation to continue improving conditions for the athletes to compete on an even playing field.

At the conclusion of the race Sweden finished one-two in the opening cross-country event at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium with Frida Karlsson carrying the national flag over the line to win gold ahead of compatriot Ebba Anderson. Norway's Heidi Weng finished in third.

Ahead of the Men’s Skiathlon
Seve De Campo and Hugo Hinkfuss will line-up for tomorrow’s Men’s 10km + 10km Skiathlon. Like today’s women’s event the Men’s Skiathlon will consist of both a 10km ‘classic’ section, where the skiers glide along tracks etched in the snow and a 10km ‘free’ section (also called "skate"). Here the skier makes lateral movements relative to the direction they are travelling, skating to the finish.

De Campo is looking forward to the race as he prepares to compete at his second Olympic Games, “[I’m] starting to get very excited. It’s always special racing at the Olympics and knowing you can probably give that extra one or two per cent, because you’ve got your country behind you. So, I’m really keen to get out there,” he said.

De Campo said he feels confident and ready to perform at his best heading into his first race of these Games.

“Second Olympics, so I’m feeling prepared,” he said.

The skiathlon promises to be an event not to be missed, watch our Men’s Cross-Country Team push the limits of physical endurance.

The Australian Cross Country Ski Team has wrapped up its final pre‑Olympic World Cup event of the season, taking to the trails of Goms, Switzerland.
 
Rosie Fordham and Ellen Soehol delivered a standout performance in the women’s team sprint, finishing 17th, marking the pair’s best result in the team sprint event on the World Cup circuit.
 
Australian Results – Goms World Cup
Women’s Team Sprint
• 17th – Rosie Fordham & Ellen Soehol Lie
Men’s Team Sprint
• 24th – Hugo Hinckfuss & Lars Young Vik
Women’s Individual Sprint
• 62nd – Ellen Soehol Lie
• 66th – Maddie Hooker
• 69th – Tuva Bygrave
Men’s Individual Sprint
• 53rd – Hugo Hinckfuss
• 57th – Lars Young Vik
Women’s 20km Mass Start Classic
• 43rd – Rosie Fordham
• 48th – Maddie Hooker
Men’s 20km Mass Start Classic
• 62nd – Hugo Hinckfuss
• 64th – Seve de Campo

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
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