30 April 2025 - As the 2024-25 winter season draws to a close, athletes worldwide are setting their sights on the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Over 400 athletes vying for a spot at the Games are receiving crucial support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through Olympic Solidarity scholarships. The transformative impact of this support has enabled athletes, including freestyle snowboarder Taiga Hasegawa (JPN), skeleton athlete Nicole Silveira (BRA), luge duo Roberts Plūme and Mārtiņš Bots (LAT), and many others to train at elite levels and achieve remarkable successes throughout the season.
The first scholarships for Milano Cortina 2026 were awarded in autumn 2023, and there are currently 423 athletes (245 men, 178 women) from 87 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) benefitting from the programme.
Discover the list of scholarship-holders
Reaching new heights
Japanese freestyle snowboarder Taiga Hasegawa is aiming high in his sport following a silver medal at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships 2025. The scholarship-holder believes the support he receives will lead to even greater achievements, and he is setting his sights on the top of the podium for the Olympic Winter Games next year.
“At Milano Cortina 2026, I will win both big air and slopestyle and become the Olympic champion,” he hopes. “Thanks to Olympic Solidarity, I can train in a good environment, go on overseas tours and achieve good results in competitions,” he adds.
Italian freestyle snowboarder Flora Tabanelli has also had remarkable success this season. Reflecting on her journey, she says, “It was a great season. I have grown so much and I am very happy with what I have achieved. Now I'm ready to work as hard as I can to achieve my big goal: Milano Cortina 2026. A memorable result was definitely coming first with my brother Miro in the Big Air World Cup in Tignes, and also winning the overall Park & Pipe Crystal Globe.”
Tabanelli also emphasises the importance of the Olympic Solidarity scholarship in her preparation: “It allows me to train both on snow and on the artificial structures we use for dry training. This will help me to be fully prepared for the Games.”
Historic success in skeleton
The ability to train abroad has been a key factor in the historic success of skeleton athlete Nicole Silveira, who became the first Brazilian athlete to win a World Cup medal in any winter sport.
“For me as an athlete from a tropical country in a winter sport, the Olympic Solidarity scholarship has had a massive impact on my ability to prepare properly for the Games. It allows me to train in Europe and North America with the best equipment, coaches and support team,” she explains.
As well as winning two IBSF Skeleton World Cup bronze medals, Silveira finished fourth at the World Championships, won the Asia Cup title and was crowned Pan American champion. “Each one of these achievements feels like a step forward, not just for me, but for my country and every young athlete who dreams big,” she adds.
Podium dreams
At the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, 10 medals (three gold, two silver and five bronze) were won by athletes with Olympic Solidarity scholarships. The programme helped Latvia secure a bronze medal in the luge team relay event, and has also enabled Roberts Plūme and Mārtiņš Bots to reach new levels of performance in the sport since.
Together, they recorded several World Cup victories last season and took a historic silver medal at the 2025 World Championships. “This achievement is the highest in Latvian luge doubles history in a world championship,” Plūme reveals. “I believe that Olympic Solidarity has been the cornerstone to our recent success. It gives us more opportunities to train at the highest level possible.”
His team-mate agrees it has been “instrumental” in helping them push their limits. “Our goals for Milano Cortina 2026 are ambitious, and we are fully committed to achieving them,” Bots adds.
Achieving excellence
Oriol Cardona Coll (ESP) won gold in the men’s sprint race at the ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Championships, one highlight of an impressive season. “It’s thanks to the scholarship that I am where I am today,” he explains. “I’ve been able to train in a much better way, to optimise my training conditions. This shows in my competition results!”
Cardona Coll also enjoyed success in the mixed relay, where he took silver with another scholarship-holder, compatriot Ana Alonso Rodriguez. The pair can now look forward to representing their fast-growing sport when it makes its Olympic debut next year.
“The moment when Oriol crossed the finish line in second place in the World Championships, securing our place for the Olympic Games, was super nice and emotional,” Alonso Rodriguez reveals. “I was very excited when I realised what we had just achieved, because the road has been very hard and difficult.”
She acknowledges that the Olympic Solidarity support has been a “key element” of her success. “It has allowed me to focus fully on my training and competitions without constantly worrying about the financial burden of life as a top athlete,” she says.
“Thanks to this support I have been able to follow a professional training plan, investing in recovery and performance tools that are essential to keep me at the top. It has been a key element in helping me grow as an athlete and achieve my Olympic dream,” she adds.
Training for success
By providing access to elite training facilities, Olympic Solidarity aims to create a level playing field for athletes. Short track speed skater Stijn Desmet (BEL) won a silver medal in the Men’s 1,500m at the ISU World Short Track Championships in Beijing, China, this season and is pushing himself to be even better.
“Next year I want to reach my highest level and be able to compete for medals in multiple Olympic events,” he says. The support he receives is crucial for his preparation, “I can train at the highest level, in ice rinks that offer great levels of safety, together with my team-mates and with the support of a dedicated staff.”
Making their mark
In alpine skiing, Zrinka Ljutić (CRO) is yet another scholarship-holder who has been making her mark this season. Ljutić celebrated a major milestone by securing the FIS Alpine World Cup slalom Crystal Globe for the 2024-2025 season.
“All the hard work is paying off as I prepare for Milano Cortina 2026,” the 21-year-old enthuses, while crediting the role her scholarship has played. “With this support, I’ve been able to attend key training camps and continue improving my skills, which has been essential to my success this season.”
Empowering athletes globally
The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to provide assistance to all NOCs for athlete development programmes, in particular those with the greatest need of it. Ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a total of 429 scholarships were awarded to athletes from 80 NOCs. Over 50 per cent of those scholarship-holders, 236, qualified for the Games, winning 10 medals.
