Matt Smith was the first of two Team SA athletes in action on Friday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics when he took to the snow in the men’s Cross-Country Skiing 10km final.
The 35-year-old, one of five Team SA athletes at these Games, which is the largest-ever representation at a Winter Olympics, placed 108th – out of 113 starters – with a time of 30:04.4, which was 9:28.2 behind gold medallist, Johannes Klaebo, of Norway.
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Based in England
Also in action on Friday was Nicole Burger in the Skeleton.
There are four heats in the women’s Skeleton and in the opening routine the 31-year-old Burger, who is based in England where she is in the Royal Air Force, ranked 25th – and last – after a time of 59.63. She had achieved a top speed of 116.58km/h.
That placing meant that she was first off in the second heat at the Cortina Sliding Centre in which she stopped the clock in a marginally faster – but still slowest overall time – of 59.43.
The third and fourth heats will be held on Saturday, 14 February.
Started cross-country skiing two years ago
Meanwhile, Smith improved on the 131st place finish he had achieved at the 2025 FIS Nordic World Championships. He only picked up cross-country skiing two years ago after moving from Cape Town to Norway.
He regards his first Winter Olympics as dream come true.
“I’m just sort of coming in here as a smiley-faced, energetic, South African guy who’s in his mid-30s, just trying to fulfil a dream of representing my country and going to the Olympics, so I can get the tattoo here,” he told Olympics.com, pointing at his chest.
He moved from South Africa to Great Britain when he was eight years old and then from Great Britain to Norway after he completed his university studies.
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