The 13 athletes from Biathlon, Ice Hockey and Short Track Speed Skating will take on more than 1880 athletes aged 15 to 18 from 73 countries in Lausanne, Switzerland from 9-22 January 2020.

 The AOC expects to send a team of 31 athletes across seven disciplines to Lausanne 2020, the third Winter YOG after Innsbruck 2012 and Lillehammer 2016. 

See the full Team and athlete bios here.

Australian Chef de Mission and Vancouver 2010 Moguls Olympian, Ramone Cooper said the Winter YOG gives our emerging elite winter athletes a valuable preview of Olympic competition.

“The Youth Olympics is a unique opportunity for athletes to grow and develop in a competitive, but supportive environment,” Cooper said.

“The YOG experience goes beyond the field of play, offering athletes important skills, a connection to other cultures and a chance to celebrate and embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. 

“This experience will support our athletes as they progress through their sport pathway, like many Australian Olympians who have realised their Olympic dream, using the Youth Games as a springboard.”

Winter Olympians like Greta Small (Alpine Skiing) and Emily Arthur (Snowboard Halfpipe) got their first taste of Olympic action at Winter YOGs, experiencing world-class multi-sport competition in the Youth Olympic environment before making their Winter Olympic debuts two years later.

“The final Team size is expected to be 31 young athletes, a great increase from 17 in Lillehammer in 2016, reflecting the great work that our National Federations are doing bringing young athletes on the elite sport pathway.” 

Lausanne 2020 will feature 8 sports and 16 disciplines, including new versions of traditional winter events, like 3x3 mixed nation Ice Hockey.

Riley Langille, Sai Lake, Nikki Sharp, Courtney Mahoney, Ebony Brunt and Molly Lukowiak will represent Australia in 3x3 Ice Hockey, with 14-year-old Nikki Sharp eager to be one of the first athletes to compete in this new discipline.

“3x3 Ice Hockey is fast and fun, and it will be great new experience to play in a team with girls from all around the world,” Sharp said.

 “I never really thought I would be playing hockey at Lausanne 2020 as it seemed unrealistic but as the tryouts got closer, I started to believe in myself and made it a goal.” 

The international qualification for Lausanne 2020 Ice Hockey involved a time-trial qualification video process, with athletes around the world ranked based on their filmed qualifications. Sharp overcame the nerves to qualify not only as the top ranked Australian, but the top ranked 3x3 female athlete in the world for Lausanne 2020.

“We had to shoot ten pucks placed in a set pattern into goals at opposite ends of a cross ice rink. It was based on the total time to skate and shoot, with a 1 second penalty for each missed puck added to the final time.

“I thought about how it was to be my one and only chance to be selected for Lausanne 2020, so I had to calm my nerves and just go for it. When all the rankings came out, I couldn't believe that I was the top ranked female in the world in the skills test, it felt very unreal and I was stoked,” she said.

Christian Mahon, Jonte Treasure, David Patterson, Luka Miskin, Isabella Moon and Chelsey Johnson will represent Australia in Biathlon, competing in the Sprint and Individual events, with a chance to join other nations in the Mixed Relay events.

Kieran Guan will take on the fastest young skaters in the world in Short Track Speed Skating, in the 500m and 1000m individual events, as well as the Mixed NOC relay.

Further selections will be announced next week. Updates from the Australian Youth Winter Olympic Team in action can also be found across AOC social channels.

You find out more about the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games HERE and get to know the Australian Team HERE