Pho3nix Athletes Set for Milano Cortina 2026

The Pho3nix Foundation is proud to send off a remarkable roster of supported athletes who have qualified to represent their nations at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Italy.

Created to back talented but underfunded athletes on the road to Olympic and Paralympic qualification, the Pho3nix Athlete Program has delivered its strongest outcome to date. From the Milano Cortina intake, 73 per cent of supported athletes have secured Olympic qualification, marking the largest Olympic representation in the program’s history and showcasing the power of timely, targeted support at the highest level of sport.

Among those heading to Italy are alpine snowboarder Maria Bukowska-Chyc (POL), halfpipe snowboarder Emily Arthur (AUS), freestyle snowboarder Jakub Hrones (CZE), ski jumper and Italian national record holder Alex Insam (ITA), and cross-country skier Izabela Marcisz (POL).

“I am so excited, and I genuinely couldn’t have done it without the help of the Ph3onix Foundation,” said Arthur, who is heading to her third Winter Olympics.

The Milano Cortina bobsleigh qualifiers also bring powerful personal stories to the fore. Australian pilot Sarah Blizzard (AUS), a reserve at Beijing 2022, has earned her Olympic debut in both the monobob and two-woman events after a breakthrough season across the World Cup and Europa Cup circuits. She is joined by Nadja Pasternack (SUI), who will compete at her second Olympic Games, becoming the first Swiss brakewoman to qualify twice – and the first to do so after becoming a mother.

They join previously announced ski mountaineers Oriol Cardona Coll (ESP) and Maximilien Drion (BEL), figure skater Donovan Carrillo (MEX), and alpine skier Anastasiia Shepilenko (UKR).

Together, this group reflects what the Pho3nix Athlete Program exists to support: athletes who now carry not only their national colours, but the momentum of communities and pathways that have driven them to rise into sport’s highest stage.