It’s been a tiring two weeks for those of us up at all hours watching the latest from Milano-Cortina.

Sleepy as I am, I’m not ready to say goodbye to Australia’s best-ever Winter Games just yet.

Luckily for me, there are a few more Aussies still to take the icy stage before the Closing Ceremony on Monday morning, as you can read more about below!

🇺🇦 Ukrainian officials will boycott the Paralympics next month in protest of 10 Russian and Belarusian athletes participating under their national flags. While Ukrainian athletes will still take part, the country’s officials will skip the Opening Ceremony and all following events. In a social media post, Sport Minister Matvii Bidnyi said: “We thank every official from the free world who will do the same. We will keep fighting!" Russia and Belarus were banned from Paralympic competitions after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but regained full membership in September 2025 after Paralympic Committee members voted to lift their partial suspensions.

🏂 Australian teenager Indra Brown has made the finals of the freeski halfpipe at the Winter Olympics. After winning World Cup gold and X Games silver in this event earlier this year, Brown qualified for the finals in fourth place, making her a strong medal chance in Sunday morning’s final. She may move up in the rankings depending on the condition of Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, who qualified in third but crashed on her second run and was stretchered off the pipe.

🏉 Four teenagers have been arrested in relation to the shooting of former Canterbury and West Tigers player Matt Utai. None of the four teenagers who have been arrested are believed to be the gunman who shot Utai. Police are investigating the possibility the shooting was link to Utai’s son Iziah’s alleged criminal associations. The Tuesday morning shooting was followed by shots being fired at a home in outer western Sydney on Wednesday morning, and a firebombing also in western Sydney. Police said all incidents were targeting the Utai family, and have said they are investigating people overseas as well as in Australia.

⛸️ Alysa Liu delivered the U.S. its first individual women's figure skating Olympic gold medal in 24 years, four years after she retired aged 16 following the Beijing Games. Liu was joined on the podium by Japanese skaters Sakamoto Kaori (silver) and Nakai Ami (bronze). Sakamoto, aged 25, is a three-time world champion and is retiring after this Olympics, but has suggested she might return as a coach. U.S. women also triumphed on the ice in the women’s ice hockey final, beating Canada. It was the fifth consecutive match-up between the two sides, with the U.S. closing the gap to 3-4 victories overall.

8pm, Freestyle Skiing: Cross Seeding 🇦🇺
Australian Kyra Wheatley will race down a course with jumps and curves, trying to secure the fastest time. In the qualifiers, athletes race one at a time, but in the 🏅 finals at 11.10pm, they will race in groups of four to cross the finish line first.

8.30pm, Freestyle Skiing: Aerials Qualification 🇦🇺
Australia’s Reilly Flanagan will ski off a ramp, doing flips and tricks in the air before trying to stick the landing on a downhill slope. 🏅 Finals at 11.30pm.

12.15am, Biathlon: Men’s 15km Mass Start 🏅
The biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. In the mass start 15km individual event, athletes all leave at the same time to ski four laps, stopping to shoot at targets from prone and standing positions. Missed shots result in one-minute time penalties added to their overall time. No Aussies in this final.

2.30am, Speed Skating: Women’s 1500m 🏅
The women's 1500m speed skating final sees athletes complete 3.75 laps around the 400-metre oval track. No Aussies in this final.

4am, Bobsleigh: 2-woman Heat 1 🇦🇺
Aussie Bree Walker (who came 8th in the monobob event) and teammate Kiara Reddingius push a sled across ice before jumping onto it and sliding speedily down a track. They are joined in the first heat by fellow Aussies Desi Johnson and the aptly named Sarah Blizzard.

5.30am, Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final 🏅
Athletes ski down a half pipe, riding up the sides to do tricks in the air. They’ll be scored on the best run of their three attempts. No Aussies in this event, but plenty of New Zealand athletes to root for instead.

7.30am, Short Track Speed Skating: Men’s 5000m Relay 🏅
Teams of four skaters race tactically around a 111.12m oval track, with any team member able to take the lead at any point by touching their teammate. No Aussie team in this final.

8.07am, Short Track Speed Skating: Women’s 1500m Final🏅
No Aussies in this event, where five athletes at a time take to the 111.12m track.

5.30am, Freeski Halfpipe: Final 🇦🇺 🏅
Teen phenom Indra Brown has a real medal chance here.

Talking points: Round 2 of the 2026 Super Rugby season continues this weekend. The Waratahs and Fijian Drua renew their rivalry tonight in Sydney, returning to the city that delivered one of last season’s most thrilling contests – a tight match that went down to the final minutes, with the Waratahs edging the Drua 29-24. This week, NSW have named an unchanged starting line-up, with Ioane Moananu set for his debut off the bench, while the Drua have made several changes after last week’s loss to Moana Pasifika.

Meanwhile, James Slipper will become the first Australian to reach 200 Super Rugby matches when the ACT Brumbies face the Crusaders in Christchurch on Sunday. The 36-year-old prop is closing in on Super Rugby’s record of 202 games held by New Zealand’s Wyatt Crockett.

How to watch: On Stan Sport. The Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika will kickstart Round 2 at 5:05pm (AEDT), followed by the Waratahs and Drua at 7:35pm and the Brumbies will face the Crusaders on Sunday with kick-off at 1:35pm.

Talking points: Australia and India meet in the third and final match of their T20 series tomorrow in Adelaide, with the series locked at one all. India won the opening game after rain shortened the match, before Australia responded on Thursday with a 19 run win. 22-year-old Georgia Voll top scored with 88 off 57 balls in that match, the highest score of her international career so far. The series is part of India’s wider tour of Australia, which also includes ODIs and a Test. Sophie Molineux continues to lead the new era for the Australian women’s team after taking over from Alyssa Healy as captain.

How to watch: The first ball is at 7:15pm on Saturday on Kayo.

Talking points: The WNBL semi-finals head to a deciding Game Three on Sunday after the Southside Flyers kept their season alive with a 109-89 win on Wednesday. After the comeback, Flyers captain Cayla George urged critics to “maybe shut your mouth”. Her team left their heavy Game One loss (60-88) firmly in the past, led by George’s 32 points and 11 rebounds. Townsville, who finished the regular season well ahead of Southside on the ladder, return home for the decider as they look to progress to another Grand Final against the Perth Lynx.

How to watch: 9Now and ESPN (via Disney+, Kayo, Foxtel)

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

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