Courtney Kuhn’s skating story begins not with ambition but with shade. Growing up in Cape Town, her family sought refuge from the midday sun at GrandWest. Her brothers skated while she watched from the side. Then, at four years old, she stepped onto the main rink for five minutes at the end of a session. “That five minutes changed everything,” she says. “I begged my parents for lessons for three months straight.” At four and a half, she started private coaching. Years later,

Cross-country skier Matthew Smith and skeleton athlete Nicole Burger have been selected to carry the South African flag at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which gets under way on Friday, at venues spread across the two Italian locations. Smith (35) and Burger (31) are the oldest members among the five athletes who will do duty for Team SA at the XXV Winter Olympics. This is the biggest delegation that the country has ever sent to a Winter Games. All five are exp

The stage is set for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, as she opened the 145th IOC Session at Milan’s iconic Teatro alla Scala in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. “Everyone you meet cannot wait for the Games to begin. There is definitely an Olympic vibe building in the streets of Milan, in Cortina and in all host regions and more specifically in the heart

Some partnerships are built carefully on paper, while others reveal themselves the moment two skaters step onto the ice together. For Milanѐ Gamberini (11) and Philip Malan (14), it began with a try-out lesson in 2022. Three years later, they will make history as South Africa’s first Basic Novice Pairs team to debut at an ISU-listed international competition, stepping onto the ice at Skate Berlin in February. Their coach, Konrad Giering, head coach at Evolution on Ice in Pret

On Monday, with 11 days to go to the start of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) announced the five athletes to represent Team South Africa. This is the biggest delegation that the country has sent to a Winter Games, eclipsing the four that went to the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, USA. The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be staged from 6-22 February. There are two teenagers in

The Olympic flame for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games was lit on Wednesday in Ancient Olympia, the historic birthplace of the Olympic Games. The ceremony marks the beginning of the flame’s journey towards Italy, where it will arrive on 4 December to travel across the country on its way to the Opening Ceremony on 6 February 2026. The ceremony, held in Archaeological Museum of Olympia, was hosted by Isidoros Kouvelos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and

The Olympic Truce Resolution was adopted today by the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The resolution calls for the observance of the Olympic Truce for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry and Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee President and IOC Member Giovanni Malagò welcomed the adoption, by consensus, in their addresses during the General Assembly.

Ask Cody Kock what changed this past season and he will not point to a single jump. He will talk about time, learning to manage it and the stress that goes along with studying Grade 12 while chasing scores on the ice. “The biggest lesson I have learned was time management,” he says. “I have also been able to manage stress and self-doubt. Learning how to manage my time has helped me prepare better for my Grade 12 year and final exams, while also training and preparing for comp

The ice first hooked Etienne Dreyer across the road from his school in Johannesburg. Wednesdays meant half-price sessions and the pull was immediate. “From the moment I was on the ice, the feeling of gliding freely, the cool air on my face and the sound of the music made me want to go back again and again. So, my parents signed me up for the academy classes.” He went on to skate and compete around the world under Colleen Millard, “who also coached Barbara Anne Hawkes and Dino

Synchronised skating in South Africa is set for a timely boost with the upcoming visit of Eeva Sunnari, who will be in the country in her capacity as a Visiting ISU Coach. With development work in 14 countries, she says her goal is to help South African skaters, coaches and stakeholders build practical momentum. “Having worked around the world within the development of Synchronised Skating, I am very much looking forward to contributing to the future of this intriguing sport

The South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) hosted its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, where...

Team Illusion, the all-female mixed-age synchronised skating team from Gauteng North and 2025 South African champions, are coached by...

In a sport that demands trust, resilience, and near-perfect synchronicity, Johann Wilkinson and Julia Mauder are proving what is possible...

SAFSA President Christo Viljoen. The South African Figure Skating Association (SAFSA) has added its voice to growing concern across the...

Balancing school, skating and a packed training schedule is no small feat. But for 9-year-old Alexia Easom, it’s all part of the journey....

For most competitive figure skaters, a year without competition might seem like a setback. But for Cape Town student Mikhail Ajam, the...

For most competitive skaters, the journey begins not long after they can walk. But for Mathilda du Plessis, it started with a promise. “I...

Her exceptional performances at the South African Figure Skating Association’s (SAFSA) recent National Championships in Johannesburg, not...

The 2025 Advanced Novice High-Performance National title was never a certainty for 15-year-old Tristané Schmulian. In fact, Nationals...

Neil Garrard. After more than two decades representing South Africa at the highest levels of international figure skating, Neil Garrard...