48m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:48amAussies in action on day 12
Cross-Country Skiing
Rosie Fordham and Phoebe Cridland will be in Women’s Team Sprint qualification from 7:45pm AEDT — finals at 8:45pm AEDT.
Lars Young Vik and Hugo Hinkfuss will compete in the Men’s Team Sprint qualification from 8:15pm AEDT — finals at 10:15pm AEDT.
Aerials
Danielle Scott, Abbey Willcox, Airleigh Frigo and Sidney Stephens will compete in the Women’s Aerials qualification. Qual 1 is at 8pm AEDT, Qual 2 is at 8:45pm AEDT — final at 11pm AEDT.
Alpine Skiing
Madison Hoffman and Phoebe Haydon will be in the Women’s Slalom final — run 1 at 8pm AEDT, run 2 at 11:30pm AEDT.
Snowboarding
Ally Hickman will compete in the Women’s Slopestyle final — run 1 is at 12:30am AEDT, run 2 is at 12:58am AEDT, run 3 is at 1:26am AEDT
2m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:33am
Stephens takes her opportunity
Can you explain Sidney Stephens late call up. Did another Aussie pull out or another competitor overall? Why was Sidney the next person to be called up?
Thanks
– Cody
Cody,
As we said, Sidney Stephens was called up as a late replacement to the Australian aerials group after Laura Peel’s knee injury left her ruled out of the Games.
The timing and decision of the team involved is key. For example when snowboarder Misaki Vaughan was ruled out of the Games when she was concussed in a halfpipe training incident.
The Australian team chose not to seek a late replacement.
However when Cam Bolton fractured his neck in a snowboard training incident, he was replaced in the snowbaord cross by James Johnstone.
9m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:26am
American Kaila Kuhn makes it tight in the top four
American Kaila Kuhn, the defending world champion is up next.
She is going for full difficulty as well with a back-full-full-full.
And it’s like deja vu! She can’t quite land it – she sort of leans back to be almost horizontal, but it’s not a fall.
And again the difficulty makes the difference. She gets 89.29 as well, level with Xu Mengtao for equal third.Â
13m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:23am
Defending champion Xu Mengtao misses the landing
Here comes the defending champion, China’s Xu Mengtao.
She’s going for a back-full-full-full, and she gets huge air…
But she misses the landing too!
It’s a backslap where she hits the snow with her back.
It’s a high-difficulty run, and she gets 89.29. Third!
15m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:20am
Australia’s late replacement Sidney Stephens hits her run
Late replacement Sidney Stephens landed her run in the women’s aerials, but will have to go through qual 2 (Getty Images)
The fourth Aussie in the aerials is Sidney Stephens, who only got a call up the other day after Laura Peel was ruled out.
Stephens goes for a back-lay-full, a less complex run than others.
But she gets good height and the landing is good!
She looks very happy as well she might.
Stephens scores 75.11 to sit in seventh spot. She’ll be in qual 2, but that is a great start for the 23-year-old.
18m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:17am
Landings are tough today
Despite the clear conditions, some of the skiers are struggling with their landings.
The latest to sit down is American Winter Vinecki. Her back-full-full-full is by no means perfect, but she scores 87.57 to sit fifth behind Australia’s Abbey Willcox.
20m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:15am
A tough one for Australia’s Airleigh Frigo
Australia’s third skier up this evening is Airleigh Frigo.
She is another debutant, she has a podium finish in World Cup last year to her credit.
Here she goes for a back-full-full, a double twisting somersault.
She’s looking good but she can’t land it!
She gets 55.75, and she will have to go through qual 2 if she wants a spot in the final.Â
25m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:10am
Now we have Australia’s Abbey Willcox
This is moving quickly in the first round, and it’s time for Australia’s second competitor, Abbey Willcox.
She’s doing a back full-double full.
Here she goes, and it’s good in the air, and she lands it clean!
Willcox scores 88.12! She goes third behind Scott and Thenault.
A great first run on debut.
28m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:08am
Australia’s Danielle Scott goes second
Danielle Scott couldn’t quite land her first run in aerials, but she lies second (Getty Images )
Looking at the third competitor, it’s time for Australia’s Danielle Scott.
She goes for a back full-full-full like Thenault.
She looks great off the ramp, gets great height.
But she sits down a bit on landing. That could have been huge!
She gets 99.59. That’s second. Will it be enough?
33m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 9:02am
Canada’s Marion Thenault starts the women’s aerials qualification
Here we go … finally!
We have a new draw for the order of competitors, and the run list is different, with a lot of people going for harder runs given the clean, clear conditions.
Canada’s Marion Thenault goes first — and she hits it! It’s a back-full-full-full, a triple twisting somersault.
The landing isn’t perfect, but it’s a very solid start.
Remember the top six go through from qual 1.
If not the rest go to qual 2.
108.61! That’s big
38m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:57am
Two Aussies at the start for the women’s slalom
We’re also ready for go at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre for the women’s slalom event.
There are two Australians on the start list, Madison Hoffman and Phoebe Heaydon.
Hoffman, who is making her first Olympic appearance, will start 36th in order. Heaydon — who came 34th in giant slalom — will descend in 46th.
42m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:53amFour Aussies ready for the women’s aerials qualification
Danielle Scott is in her fourth Winter Olympics — she will be one of four Aussies in action in the women’s aerials on day 12 (Getty Images)
It’s been a REALLY long wait for the aerials competitors, but the competition is finally getting started in Livigno.
The four Aussies lining up for the rescheduled women’s event are Danielle Scott, Abbey Willcox, Airleigh Frigo and Sidney Stephens.
Stephens is the late replacement for Laura Peel, who injured her knee prior to the Games and was ruled out the other day.
She is one of three Australian debutants, along with Frigo, who was eighth at this year’s world titles and Willcox, who was 10th in this year’s World Cup and fifth in last year’s World Cup.
Scott is a four-time Olympian, 2023 world championship silver medallist, and ranked seventh in the World Cup this season.
There are some strong contenders outside the Australian contingent as well.
China’s Xu Mengtao is the reigning Olympic champion, and very strong in the triple twisting somersaults (like Australia’s Scott).
China’s Kong Fanyu is a three-time Olympian and was a bronze medallist in Pyeongchang in 2018.
American Winter Viniecki is ranked fourth in World Cup this season. Her teammate Kaila Kuhn is the reigning aerials world champion.
45m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:50am
Cross-Country Skiing Women’s Team Sprint gets us underway
First up we’re heading to Tesoro Cross-Country Stadium for the Women’s Team Sprint qualification.
We have an Aussie team involved, with Phoebe Cridland and Rosie Fordham in action.
Athletes start at 30-second intervals on the course.
There are 26 in each semifinal, with the top two and six “lucky losers” advancing to the final. Cridland is in the first heat and Fordham is in the second.
49m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:46am
The moguls coach who nearly went to Canada
We’ve talked a lot during these Games about Australia’s moguls program, responsible for two golds and a bronze at Milano-Cortina.
Our Olympics reporter, Simon Smale, has spoken to Australian coach Peter McNiel about the turns in his career, including the one that nearly took him to Canada.
But something significant kept him in Australia.
“My final decision was more around, I was working with a couple of athletes at that time,” McNiel says.
“One was called Cooper Woods.
“And one was Jakara Anthony.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
You can read more in Simon’s feature here:
55m agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:41am
It’s clear and cold in Livigno
How good does this look? (ABC News: Simon Smale)
Speaking to our man in Livigno, Simon Smale, it is thankfully clear for day 12.
However it is -12 degrees Celsius, so seriously cold!
The competitors won’t care about that, at least they get to start.
1h agoWed 18 Feb 2026 at 8:26am
It’s time for day 12 at the Winter Olympics
Hello, good evening and welcome to our live coverage from day 12 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The weather didn’t play ball yesterday, leaving a number of Australians to sit back and wait for their chance to shine.
Now the re-scheduling means we have PLENTY of Aussies in action today, between the normally scheduled events and the ones that were put off in Livigno.
The focus today will be on aerials, cross-country skiing, slalom and snowboarding.
I’m Andrew McGarry, and I’ll be taking you through the opening section of day 12 before handing over to Luke Pentony.
Let’s get started!