Australia has named Lara Hamilton and Phillip Bellingham to its ski mountaineering team for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, marking the sport's debut on the Olympic program. Hamilton, 27, makes her Olympic bow, while Bellingham, 34, will compete at his fourth Games and become the first Australian man to try two Winter sports. The announcement highlights the growing appeal of the uphill-and-downhill discipline.
Ski mountaineering, often called skimo, involves athletes climbing mountains on skis equipped with adhesive 'skins' for grip, then transitioning to descend at speed. It joins the Winter Olympics for the first time in 2026, following its appearance at the 2020 Youth Games in Lausanne. Events include men's and women's sprints—lasting about three minutes—and a mixed relay with one man and one woman each completing the course twice. Individual races can stretch to one or two hours.
Lara Hamilton, a trail runner and part-time DJ based in Colorado, discovered skimo in late 2021 to maintain her fitness during winter. 'I've always loved pushing my limits,' she said. 'It just so happened that I've truly fallen in love with skimo. I live for adventuring in the mountains; it makes me feel alive.' She believes Australia's ski fields suit the sport well, likening it to 'hiking but with skis on' and noting lower avalanche risks on gentler slopes.
Phillip Bellingham brings experience from cross-country skiing at the Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, and Beijing 2022 Olympics, where he placed 22nd in the team sprint alongside Seve de Campo. He is the second Australian after Jenny Lyons (née Owens) to compete in multiple Winter Olympic disciplines; Lyons skied alpine in 2002 and ski cross in 2010 and 2014. Bellingham may also qualify for cross-country at these Games. 'Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would compete at four Olympics, so it's an absolute honour,' he said. 'The journey has been long and quite humbling. I had to go back to the beginning, work on the basics and rebuild myself from the ground up.'
The competitions will occur in Bormio, Italy, on the slopes of the famed Stelvio climb, shared with men's alpine events. A test event in February 2025 drew praise from athletes like France's Thibault Anselmet, who called the course 'very good' with steep and flat sections, gates, and a downhill finish. Australia's chef de mission, Alisa Camplin, celebrated the selections: 'Seeing Lara make her Olympic debut literally gives me goosebumps... And for Phil, qualifying for a fourth Games is an incredibly special feat.'
