Alisa Camplin-Warner calls for more funding after historic 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Alisa Camplin-Warner says winter sports have earned the right for more investment after a record-breaking showing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

Australia has earned six medals at this year’s Games, with three golds, two silvers and a bronze.

The country’s previous best Winter Olympics was in Beijing four years ago when the team took home a then-record four medals, with one gold.

Camplin-Warner said these results, provided by athletes working on a “shoe-string budget,” prove the nation’s winter sports athletes were fully deserving of more funding.

“We’ve probably been, in winter sport, disproportionately funded,” Camplin-Warner told media at her Games closing press conference in Livigno on Saturday.

“Even though we’re very grateful for the ongoing funding we’ve had, I think there’s just a real opportunity to equalise that a little.

“We can get to the next level and there’ll just be more Australians that can chase that dream.”

Camplin-Warner thanked the Australian government and “every single taxpayer for funding our Winter Olympic sports and their athletes”.

But the two-time Olympic medallist also cautioned that without further investment in facilities, the success enjoyed in Italy would not be repeated.

“I think we have been punching above our weight [in terms of medals] and we haven’t had, perhaps, the funding we might have deserved along the way,” she said.

“But we’ve shown that we’ve made every dollar count and if we can have more philanthropic support and invest more in coaches …

“I’d love to see a curling centre and an ice push start for our sliders right next to it.

“That will help us continue to expand across our sports.

“As a nation, we were bold enough to build the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre in Queensland and the National Snow Sports Training Centre in Jindabyne.

“Two-thirds of our medallists trained on the Brisbane Water Jump, and Dani Scott is the first to tell you that it extended her career.

“These were the game-changing decisions and pivotal investments that will enable generations of kids to try winter sport and to grow in the future.”

Camplin-Warner said facilities were not the only factor in Australia’s success, highlighting the record-breaking moguls team, led by Peter McNiel, as an example of dedicated coaching, which also requires additional funding.

“You need the facilities, but you need the world-class coaches and you need the culture, all of those elements working together,” she said.

“It’s been a bit-by-bit build.

“We’ve been behind the rest of the world … What we want to see is more pathway programs.

“We’ve just got enough at our World Cup level, but we don’t have the programs underneath that the Americans and the Canadians, the Swiss, Norwegian and Chinese have.

“So our opportunity is just to get so many more kids active.

“I did talk about how cool it would be to have a curling centre and a sliding start for our sliding athletes, but we also still have a lot of kids nicking off to New Zealand because they’ve got a world-class halfpipe there.

“I’d like to see everyone in the world coming to Australia.

“Our ski resorts make so many opportunities available to us and, in some ways, that’s also been a secret weapon for us.

“But you can see hubs like Japan, who have invested in so many of the big air sports and if we can get a few more facilities of that nature and the right coaches, I think we could become a little unstoppable.”

Camplin-Warner said the progress that has been made in moguls proves that the “strategic” approach authorities have made had paid off.

“When you’ve got limited resources, you’ve got to prioritise,” she said.

“As much as we’ve earned our right to compete on the sporting field, we’ve had to earn our right to receive funding.

“And it takes time. Expertise takes time to build, great coaches take time to invest in. It’s not a flick of a switch. It’s slow and steady patient work and we’ve put that in now.

“I think we’re really ready to put on the accelerator.”

Camplin-Warner noted that given Australia’s success, the Winter Olympians of 2026 were more visible than any other team in history. Channel Nine have reportedly had better viewing figures for these Games than the recent Australian Open.

She said she hopes that the public will maintain its interest in winter sports between each Olympics.

“That is the power of the Olympics,” Camplin-Warner said.

“That is kids staying up late with mum and dad, watching the best our country’s ever had.

“And as a result, we now have a new generation of children with dreams in their hearts and a sporting system that can help those dreams come true.

“We feel like we’ve worked really hard to capture the nation’s attention … we hope that you’ll not forget us in the down times in between [Olympics].”

Given the success that Australia’s athletes have enjoyed, there is no question that they have played their part in making a genuinely compelling argument for more from authorities when the collection plate is shaken under their noses.

Camplin-Warner said they could not have done more.

“When I left Australia in the middle of summer, my hope was that this Australian Winter Olympic team would be fully seen and truly appreciated,” Camplin-Warner said.

“I called them a once-in-a-generation team, and our dream was to show the world that we are a real winter sports nation.

“We had ambition because we’d worked so hard to earn our right to compete.

“And when the moments came, we didn’t shy away.

“What is pretty cool is that the world has come to know our names and our stories, but most importantly, our depth of character.

“What these 55 athletes have done for Australia’s reputation on the winter world stage is incomparable.

“They’ve shown kids everywhere that you can come from the land down under and win a Winter Olympic gold medal.”